Nightmare at the hot spring
by LadyShaowFlame
Summary: The SPR group is on the case of a hot spring with a dark history. When female guest are nearly drowned what will happen when Mai is the only girl in the group.
1. Chapter 1 We're on the case

Mai was walking down the street happily having just left a sweet shop. She thought she'd treat herself for doing so well on her essay. She knew she had to hurry back to the office or deal with Naru's annoying comments again.

"Mai are you completely incapable of keeping track of time?"

Mai sighed as she knew he wouldn't just stop there. He'd bring up the time she had nearly failed two exams. It's my own fault for that, I was mopping at my desk and was staring at my returned test. I didn't even hear him step out of his office. Naru is like a shadow sometimes, you know it's there but you don't always pay attention.

"65's?" I see you're really doing your best he said in a condescending ton

Never mind I don't want to think about it. She shook her head and walked up the stairs and into the office. Lin was still in his office typing. And Naru was doing the same thing going through case files. I just took off my coat and sat at my desk opening my container of mochi ice cream. I couldn't decide on a favor. They all just looked so good so I got three different ones.

"Yay!" time to chow down she said loudly.

Naru who was sitting at his desk looked up from his book.

"What's Mai up to again? She's always goofing off when she should be working" he thought

He stood up from his chair and walked around his desk opening the door. There he stood watching as Mai was rocking from side to side trying to decide what flavor she wanted to try first. She had a huge grin on her face making her look like she was five years old

Mai was over joyed and looked up from her ice cream. But from the corner of her eye she could see a dark figure watching her. She turned her head and shoot up from her seat.

Oh... Hi Naru! She said in a nervous tone.

"Taking a break?" she said.

"I didn't know you had started paying me, seeing as you think it's your business to keep tabs on me" in his usual sarcastic tone.

Mai looked around the room trying to think of a way so distracted Naru since she's already put her food in her mouth.

Tea? She thought but she had given him a cup before she went out it was unlikely he'd want more so soon.

Mai looked down at her desk and grabbed the container of mochi. She walked over to Naru with a nervous smile on her face and held the container out to him.

"Would you like to try one…? They're really good" she said hoping he'd take the beat

Naru looked at the container with the three different colored balls and looked back at Mai.

"What is it?' he asked

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Mai put the container down on her desk and hurried to open the door.

"Hello I'm Mai and this is my boss Shibuya, please have a seat"

Mia bowed as the women passed her and closed the door. Lin came out of his office with his laptop and the women began to tell us why she needed our help. Her name was Sakura Morimoto. Her and her husband owned a privet Hot spring resort. Many visitors had said they were nearly drowned in the lake by the hot spring. They would hear footsteps. One night she had seen a young girls spirt screaming and then it vanished. There had been two deaths already and they had to close the spring because people had stopped coming out of fear they'd be attacked. The young women left and Mai looked over at Naru as he stood up from the sofa. He told Lin to get the equipment ready and that we'd be doing an investigation tomorrow morning.

"Naru, will we be spending a few nights there?" Mai asked from the kitchen as the put the cups in the sink to wash.

"Yeah" he said

Lin ducked back into his office and shut the door. Naru picked up his book and walked down the hall to the equipment room to assess what we'd need to bring. Mai signed and walked back to her deck. She had forgotten about her mochi just sitting there. Her eyes got big when she saw that the green tea flavored one had gone missing.

"Could Naru have eaten it?" Mai thought out load.

She just ignored it and finished the last two. She had been surprised that Naru didn't know what they were.

"I guess they don't have these in England" She said.

"They do but I've never tried it before."

Naru just walked straight into his office and was about to close the door but stopped. He turned around to face Mai.

"Was that one green tea flavored?"

"Ye…yeah it was." she said a little surprised.

"It was good." He said before shutting the door

Mai blushed a bit. She had never heard Naru say that he enjoyed eating anything before. Then again she never really saw Naru or Lin go out to lunch. She wondered if they had snacks in their desk that she didn't know about.

Naru finally finished all his case files and carried them in to the living room and placed them on the corner of Mai's desk and she had just finished off some homework.

"File these for me. Then I can walk you home."

Naru then walked to Lin's office to talk to him.

"It's ok I can walk home by myself it's not that far from here." Mai said not wanting to burden him with having to take her home.

Naru turned slightly to make eye contacted with her.

"Mai its midnight and it wouldn't be safe for you to be wondering the streets by yourself. Then I'd have to find a new assistant once you get abducted. "He smirked

Naru got his coat from his office. Mai put the case files in order and packed up her things. She put on her hoodie and they left.

"We'll have to meet at 5am to be at Ms. Sakura's House by 9am" He said also adding that tomorrow it would only be them three since both miss Matsuzaki and miss Hara were busy and couldn't make it. Monk and John were going to be on their way at a later time since they were farther always from the city.

The streets were pretty empty as they walked silently. They passed the spot where the old school house use to stand. It was their first investigation together. It had been a little strange after Naru left for England. Mai found a job at a cafe and was waiting tables for a while. Six months has passed and one day when she was at school she was called to the office for a phone call. She was surprised to hear Naru's voice on the other end. He had decided he was going to be returning to japan and continue working there. His main reason for calling was to ask if Mai would like to work for him again. She said she would happily and would go to the office to clean it up for when he arrived.

"What's the matter? You look like you have something on your mind. You're not usually so quiet"

He was looking at her now. She just looked away and said it was nothing.

"We have to turn left now"

They crossed the street and walked another two more blocks down. They came to a small house it was only one floor with a tiny backyard. Mai was digging in her pocket for her keys. She found them and unlocked the door walking inside.

"Mai I know that I didn't leave things the right way when I left. I hide a lot of things from all of you. You've always been straight forward with the things on your mind so if there's anything you want to say just say it when you're ready.

"Still stealing all the good moments for yourself I see" she gave him a smile

"Oh Mai! We'll be picking you up from here in the morning at five so be ready"

"Okay goodnight Naru" she closed the door

Naru walked back down the street. She dropped her bag next to the door and took off her hoodie. She put on her slippers and walked in to her room and got a larger bag from her closet. She picked a few bits of clothes in a gym bag. She finished and slipped into the bathroom to take a quick bath. The hot water calmed her. Once she was done she got dressed in a tank top and shorts and hopped into bed, covering herself with a blanket.


	2. Chapter 2 Restless Dreamers

**4:55 am**

 **Ding dong**

 **Ding dong**

 **5am**

 **Ding dong**

Naru was becoming inpatient, He told Mai that they'd be here to pick her up at five and still she hasn't answered the door or turned on a light. Lin was in the van pretending not to notice he's Bosses frustration. Typical Mai he thought. Naru walked around the house, the glass sliding doors were locked and he couldn't see Mai. He went around to the other side and found Mai's bedroom window it was an inch open and the curtains were closed. He knocked on the glass until a sleepy Mai pulled the curtains back and rubbing her eyes. Naru put his watch up to the glass and she leaned forward to see what it was. Her eye got big and she rushed to find some clothes to wear.

"AHHH! Sorry Naru I'll be right out"

She had almost pulled her shirt off before she remembered that Naru was still at the window and the curtains were open. Naru walked back to the front door and waited for it to open. Mai slammed the window shut and pulled the curtains together with a huff. Naru hadn't expected Mai to be so out of it that she would almost get undressed in front of him. He could hear her running around moving thing and finely the door opened. She had her gym bag with her and a coat. She could tell Naru was annoyed. He opend the door to the back seat for her and closed it once she was inside. He then went around the car to the passenger seat and got in.

Lin started driving, it was going to be a 4 hour drive.

"Good morning Lin"

"Good morning"

She knew she should have set her alarm clock but was too lazy to. At least she could sleep more in the van.

"Oh if either of you gets hungry I have snacks in my bag and some drinks"

Thanks they both said. Mai looked out the window at the passing building, then there were trees. Her eyes got heavy and she laid down on the seat. Naru glanced back at her and then went on with reviewing what little information they had gathered about the resort. Mai started having one of her dreams again, she was sitting by a lake. Someone was behind her. It was a tall man with dark hair talking to her. She sat there happy but someone had pushed her in to the lake. She was yelling at the same man she had been talked to. He jumped in and forced her head under water. She started to thrash about trying to break free of his grip. Her head was above water but quickly shoved back down. She was drowning. She could feel the man's fingers dig into her shoulders as he held her down. Mai had started kicking and swinging her arms around.

"Lin pull over now"

He stop on the side of the road. Naru gets out of the car and opens Mai's door. Her breathing keeps stopping abruptly. He pulls her from the car and puts her on the grass trying to wake her up. She can feel her mouth fill with water.

"MAI MAI WAKE UP. YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP"

Mai's eyes pop open. She could see the sky but she started screaming and swinging her arms hitting naru in the chest. He grabs her wrist and holds them until she realizes it's him. She rolls to her side and gets up and takes a few steps before falling to her knees gasping for air. Lin looks on as Mai slows got her breathing to normal. He had seen Naru go through this many times before. She looked around her not knowing where she was. Naru went over to her with his hand out. She took it and pulled herself to her feet. She was shaking and her eyes were still wide with fear.

"Are you alright now?"

Mai nodded as he helped her into the back seat. He sat with her and shut the door. Lin got back in the car and started driving again. Mai had her knees pressed to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. This was the second time she had experienced someone's murder. She was quiet for a while just rocking back and forth. There was still an hour to go. Once she was calm enough she put her feet down and told Naru what she had seen. He wrote everything down in his notebook.

Day1

Naru was already out of the van and Lin opening the back of the van to unload the equipment. Mai got out and went with Naru to the main entrance to meet their client.

"Hello everyone, thank you for coming so soon. I have your two rooms set up so I'll take you to them now"

They made their way to their room which had a small living room, large bedroom area that had enough space to accommodate about 6 people. There was an adjoining room for their base to be set up in. Miss Morimoto walked them to each area that her customers had experienced activity in. Lin was in the base setting up the shelves and monitors. Naru made a list of each room they'd need to place a camera in. Mai went to the hallway leading to the hot spring where guest had seen an apparition of a women walking and set up a camera and a mic. Naru was taking the temperature readings.

"We're good with the view" said Lin

It was 11 and Mai was in the kitchen area making sandwiches. Naru walked in holding his empty tea cup. He placed it next to Mai and sat down at the table.

"Another cup Naru?"Mai said as she finished placing the sandwiches on some plates.

"Yeah" Naru said as he was watching her heat the kettle.

She pulled another cup from the shelf and she places a plate in front of Naru along with his cup of tea. She walked back to the counter and picked up the other plate and tea and walked to base. Naru could hear her tap on the door until Lin opened it. She came back into the living room and picked up her sandwich and a napkin before taking a seat.

"So I'm guessing we're all sleeping in the same room this time right Naru?'

"Yeah, does that make you uncomfortable?"

"Uh no, it's just I didn't know if I'd be in a room by myself since I'm the only girl. I don't like being alone when we're on cases, anything can happen"

There was a knock on the door. It slid open it was a man who introduced himself as Jen. He worked around the spring. He just wanted to say hi. However Mai got a strange feeling from him. She didn't know why but there was something wrong. Naru could tell something was going on by how Mai was looking. It was that same look of an approaching danger.

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure it's just his aura had this dark feeling to me"

It was about 4pm Naru and Mai left the base to go take a look around the hot spring. They checked all the rooms on the first floor. There was nothing unusual there so they went up the stairs to the Second floor. There was only two large rooms for storage. They then went back down stairs and walked around the hot spring. It was very warm and had a nice smell. Mai looked over her shoulder, she felt as if someone was watching her. She shrugged it off and then they walked the grounds to see if there was anything that could explain why so many people were nearly drowned. Mai felt compelled to go pasted the tree line.

"Mai where are you going?"

Mai didn't answer but took off running.

"Wait Mai!"

Naru chased after her but lost her after he pasted the tree line. He looked around the area trying to find her. He had spent thirty minutes looking with no sign of her. It was late afternoon and the sky was orange. The sun would set soon and he had to find her before it got too dark. He walked about a mile and a half north of the hot spring and the trees started to thin. He could see water over the next hill.

"Mai!"

He could see someone sitting on the ground inches from the water. It was Mai, she was sitting smiling at the water running her fingers over the surface flicking off the dampness.

"What's wrong, why did you come all the way out here by yourself"

She looked up at him and smiled then gave a giggle.

"We always meet here. Remember the picnic we had that one summer"

"Who are you?" he said

Mai stood up and walked over to him, and put her head against his chest and putting her arm around him. She was possessed by someone. From what he could tell she spook like a more mature women and she had him mistaken for someone else. He decided to play along for a while to see what information he could find out about the spirt.

"You're always so handsome. Will you please sit with me?" she said

She held his hand and she brought him to where she had been sitting before. He sat beside her and started asking her why she was out here so late and by herself. She told him she had been waiting for him to finish with work to come see her. He asked where she live. She told him in the next village, why he didn't just see her at her home. She rested her head on his shoulder and held his arm close to her. She said she wasn't allowed to talk to boys and that her father would be angry if he had known she was seeing him.

"Why am I so tired now?"

She was darning Mai's energy to stay in her body. Mai fell limp and he held her.

"Mai? Mai?

She hadn't woken up. It was dark now the stars were out. He lifted her on to his back. He headed back in the direction he had first came. He walked slowly so he wouldn't fall. The bushes were dense and it was quiet. It would take forty minutes to get back to base and Lin would be worried. He was half back when he felt Mai's had clench his coat.

"Are you awake?"

"mmmmmm. What happened?" she said

"You got possessed again dummy. You ran off into the wood and made me chase you. Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I remember standing near the tree line. Uh should I get off?"

"Its fine you got pretty burned out being a host so just rest for now. I can manage"

Lin was walking around outside looking at the ground for foot prints when Naru came out form the bushes.

"Where have you two been this whole time?"

"Taking a walk" Naru said

"Naru!" shouted Lin

Naru didn't want to explain things now. He walked to the bedroom and put Mai on one of the beds on the floor. He then covered her up and walked in to the base and reviewed the findings. There was a voice in the hallway where Mai had left the mic. It said "I'll meet you soon" It was the voice of the women who possessed Mai. Somehow she was connected to the spring.

"Monk and John called earlier they said they'd be here at 8 tomorrow morning" Lin said as he walked into the living room

"Okay, Lin wake me up in a few hours and I'll switch with you"

"Alright get some rest"

Naru walked in to the bedroom he took off his coat. Mai was sitting on her bed waiting for him.

"So what happened?"

Naru walked to the bed closest to the window and laid down. He told her what happened at the lake and she started blushing nervously. He also told her that they did pick up a voice on tape and that Monk and John would be here tomorrow. Mai laid back down and turned over on her side and fell asleep again. She had a dream she was in the room by herself but there was also someone else she couldn't see.

"Gene? Is that you?"

She walked over to the window. She didn't realize she had pull Naru into one of her dreams. Naru didn't say anything. He wondered why he would be having a dream about Mai. Six months ago he had listened to Mai express her feeling about him, but were those feeling for him or Gene?

"Naru?" she said surprised

"Have you been able to bring people in to your dreams before?" I asked somewhat surprised at how her powers had grown.

"No this is the first time it's ever happened" She said blushing

"That's very interesting, I'll have to do some research in it" He said as he stared at her

The location changed and they were by the lake again. Mai was sitting near the water again and Naru was walking towards her. She was smiling at him but something was wrong. He started arguing with her and shoved her into the lake.

"What are you doing Jun!" she yelled

Naru jumped into the water and shoved her down into the water. She was thrashing around. Mai got back up and was trying to get away from Naru but he grabbed her again, this time by the shoulders and used his body weight to keeper under. Naru tried to stop himself but he had no control of his body. He watched as Mai screamed underwater and punched him trying to break free. Her movements started to slow and he could see her head jerk back as she was taking in water. Her body went limp. He pulled her from the water and swam with her back to shore. He carried her around the lake and into the woods. He started digging and buried her near a tall oak tree. He then walked away. They were back at the hot spring again. Mai was visibly shaken from what had happened. Naru had had similar dreams but never was he an assailant committing a murder. He had just attacked and killed Mai in a dream and he couldn't stop himself. The hot spring looked as it did when they had arrived. Naru was standing by the trees watching Mai in the hot spring with a towel on her head. He wasn't alive in this one but a spirit inside someone else's body. He was hidding behind a large wooden wall but wen't in to the water when Mai had turned to rest her head on the side of the bath. He slowly walked up behind her and grabbed ahold of her hair as he put his hand over her mouth. He pulled her farther into the bath where it was deeper than he shoved her head in. He was face to face with Mai this time, no more splashing water obscuring the view. He could see everything. Her eyes were wide and she was screaming. He didn't want to see this. He didn't want to be the one to hurt her. He knew if he could see Mai as the victim she must surely see him as the killer.

"Naru!"

He could hear her as bobbles came from her mouth.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" he screamed

It went dark for a while and he could hear Mai crying. He walked towards the sound. Mai was sitting on the floor, Light eliminating around her. He knelt down It front of her. She looked up at him. He put his hand on her shoulder and scooping her into his embrace with the other.

"I'm sorry" he said softly into her ear.

"I'll be okay" she said

"Mai you should wake up now"

Everything went dark again.


	3. Chapter 3 Mayhem in the woods

Day 2

"Naru what the hell happened?!"

Naru opened his eyes he was on his bed and Lin pulled him to his feet. He was covered in glass and the window was broken.

"I heard Mai screaming in her sleep and when I came in the window exploded and everything was floating around the room"

Naru had lost control of his power during the dream. Mai had just woken up and was sitting up looking around the room in complete shock.

"What'd I miss?" She said tiredly

"Naru, Mai get out of here while I clean this up." Lin said as he shoock the broken glass for Naru's blanket.

Mai got to her feet and was still trying to figure out what happened to the window and why her gym bag was hanging on a tree outside. Naru pulled her arm.

"Watch the glass Mai"

"Yeah…. But who did tha…?" she said as Naru gave her a tug

It was eight o'clock when Monk and John pulled up. Naru was watching the monitors, Mai was making tea and Lin was throwing out all the broken glass.

"Hey good morning everyone hows it been without me around?" Monk said

"It was quiet." Naru said coldly still facing the monitors.

"Jeez Naru you really have to start this early in the morning, you get your beauty sleep but aren't ever any happier. How's my little Mai doing this good morning? Minus Naru's bad boy act"

"Oh… I'm okay, Hello John"

"Okay now that you've all wasted enough time greeting each other how about we get to work?"

"Yes sir, what would you like your band of merry men to do?" Monk said sarcastically

John started laughing and put his bag in the corner and sat down.

"We need to draw out a spirit that's been drowning young women. And since we haven't got an idea of where he could be hiding we'll have to wait until something shows up"

"Hey I got an idea how about we put Mai to bed and she can dream up an answer? Mai ready for your little nap?" Monk said

"Uh…. No I've slept enough already and died three time, I'm gonna pass"

"What do you mean you've died three times Mai?" John said with a concerned expression.

Mai explains what had happened in the car and last night. Monk sat there with his mouth open while John was intensely listening.

"Wow Mai you've had it rough I'm surprise you can sleep normally after the first time it happened let alone three more in a one day span" Monk said shaking his head.

"I'll need you to perform an exorcism by the lake. There also a women's spirit that's been roaming around there. She took over Mai for a while yesterday"

"Goodness you experienced that as well Mai? Where you okay afterwards?" John said still worried

"Yeah I was okay, I was unconscious for a while but when I came to Naru was carrying me"

"ooooo, carrying you how? Bridle style? Over the Shoulder? OR Piggy back? Monk said with a smile

Mai started to blush again.

"Shut up Monk." she said embarrassed.

Lin was sitting at the table laughing along with John. Naru had been fiddling with one of the monitors and went into the living room again. Monk put his arm around Naru's shoulders.

"Awww you dirty dog you finally made your move. Young love is so cute."

"You're getting stupider by the day aren't you?" Said Naru

"Oh man wait 'till Masako and Ayako hears about this, they'll go nuts" Monk laughed

Mia slammed her hands on the table and got up. Everyone looked at her. She had a serious look on her face.

"Don't say anything to them. I've just gotten on good terms with Masako so her finding out would cause problems."

"Holy crap Mai went she hulk." Monk took a step back, taking Naru with him.

"She's got a point Monk" said John

"Jeez Naru your so lucky I'd love to have three cute girls fighting over me" Monk said as he let go of Naru and sat down.

John and Monk got changed to perform the exorcism, Mai and Naru walked them to the lake. Lin was left watching the monitors again. At the lake Mai felt something coming at her but it was too late to do anything. She fell forwards and landed of the grass.

"Mai! What's wrong" Monk yelled as he and John ran over to her.

"Mai? Are you okay?" Naru had gotten to her first and rolled her onto her back.

Her eyes opened and there was a smile on her face. She put her hand on Naru's cheek and rubbed it then brushed the hair from his face.

"You've come back, I've missed you so much Jun."

John and Monk looked over at them. They couldn't imagine Mai feeling comfortable enough to show that much affection to Naru. However they realized the voice was different than the sweet and cheerful voice Mai had.

"You don't belong here. This body isn't yours" Naru said.

"Hey John if Naru can't talk that women out of Mai you're going to have to exercise her. If I do it Mai will get hurt and I just don't have the heart to do that"

"No worries Monk"

John began to say a prayer as he sprinkled water on Mai. Mai was still looking into Naru's eyes with her hand still on his cheek. The spirit rose from Mai's body and looked at Naru befor vanishing from sight. Monk and John sighed in relief. Mai's eyes were close and then opened. She was so embarrassed she pulled her hand away and stood up to fast making herself dizzy.

"Take it easy, I'm not going to carry you back again" Naru said getting back on his feet.

Mai turned around quickly facing the lake. Her eye were narrow. Her hand clapped together and took the stance of the immoveable one as she started to chant. Everyone looked at her, they hadn't seen anything abnormal. But then a spirit appeared and then vanished once Mai said the last phrase of the mantra. None of them had felt any kind of change it the air but my most certainly had.

"We have to get out of here now" she said.

The seriousness of her voice and the fact none of them sensed the spirit approaching startled them. They all began running back to the hot spring but midway they heard rustling in the bushes. Two dog spirits jumped out forcing the group to become divided. Monk and John had made it to the tree line when they notice the dog was gone. Naru and Mai were running in a different direction and heading east of the lake. Both dogs were chasing them now. Mai tired stopping to try and vanquish them but Naru grabbed her arm and continued running. The dogs were still chasing them running through trees and bushes. Suddenly one dog disappeared from view and other lunged at Naru, bearing its fangs, Mai stepped in front of him getting bitten in the proses. The dog then vanished. Mai was on her back holding her arm. Warm blood had started spilling over her fingers.

"We need to bandage that now" He said. He helped remove Mia's coat and took his scarf off and wrapped it around her arm. He tightened it and she winced at the pain. She put back on her coat. It was six o'clock and the sky was dark blue.

"Wish we had a flashlight" he said

"One sec… Here you go" Mai said as she pulled a small light from her coat pocket.

"Good work Mia. Now let's get out of here shall we?" He said holding out his hand and pulling Mai back to her feet.

They walked back the same way they had ran. Naru held the flashlight and lead the way. Mai fallowed behind still holding her arm. Back at base Monk and John filled Lin on what happened. They got some flashlights and all three of them were going to go back to the lake to find them. There was rustling in the bushes again. Mai and Naru stopped walking and listened for a while when Naru grabbed Mai's hand and started running. They could hear the dogs again howling loudly. They ran as fast as they could, Mai was panting hard. They came to the lake but were surrounded by the two dogs. Mai put her hands together and chanted the mantra, one dog flow back, the other dog lunged forward. Mai held her ground she kept chanting forcing the dogs back but was running out of energy. She held them off as much as she could until she fell to the ground unable to get to her feet. Naru was going to use his PK but Monk, John along with Lin had arrived and destroyed the dogs. Naru went to Mai who was sitting on the ground breathing hard and shaking, she suddenly fainted and fell over.

"WE NEED TO CALL AN AMBULANCE RIGHT NOW" Naru yelled

Day 3

11am

"Mai can you hear me?"Naru said as he sat next to Mai on her hospital bed.

"I'm up but I can't move. My body feel so heavy."

"You used up a lot of power fending off those dog spirits. You shouldn't have protected me"

"Jeez Naru what did you want me to do just let you die?"

"You were in no condition to use the seal of the immovable one idiot. None the less you did pretty well. They had to stich your arm but other then that the doctors said you'd be fine to leave soon."

"That's good, has there been anything new in the case?"

"So far no, But then again you're the only one that would be able to sense them. I'll need you to rest up as much as you can. I know you've gone through and awful lot these past few days but we need you to finish this case."

"Okay Naru we can leave here when you want, I can always rest at the base when I need to."

"Don't push yourself Mai. Seems I forgot to give this to Lin before I left."Naru was holding a video tape of the surveillance around the hot spring.

"Give it to me. I'll make sure Lin gets it." Mai slowly opened her hand and taking hold of the VHS.

"I told you already to rest, you're not well enough to be moving around yet."

"What kind of an assistant would I be if I couldn't run an errand for my boss?"

Mai took the tape from his hand and held it in hers. She shut her eyes and fell asleep, then focused on Lin. Within a few seconds she was standing inside the base as Lin was typing.

"Hey Lin!"

"Mai what are you doing here? Weren't you at the hospital? Where's Naru?

"He's at the hospital with me he just needed me to give you something. Here it's the surveillance video, well I got to go so I'll see you later." Mai gave a small wave as her astral projection faded away, leaving the tape on the table. Lin looked on in surprise and then went to the phone and started dialing. Mai woke up again in her bed. Naru was staring intensely at her hand. The tape was gone.

"That's incredible. I'd like to do some experiments once you're better ok Mai. You really do have great potential. "

 **Ring Ring Ring**

The phone in the hospital room began to ring and it took Naru a few minutes before he got up to answer it. It was Lin asking if they were still at the hospital. The conversation was short, but naru asked if Monk could come pick them up in an hours.

"Seems that you surprised Lin with your little delivery."Naru said with one of his rare smiles. It made Mai blush remembering how he had smiled that one time when apologizing to her all those months ago.

"Hey Naru I've been wanting to ask you something. Since I've been developing new ability's when do you think it would stop?"

"You don't like your ability's Mai?"

"It's not that. I'm happy that I'm of use, it's just that getting use to them is difficult. I want to be able to use them more effectively. "She looked down at the white blanket that was coving her legs.

"It's always difficult but all you can really do is learn to harness your power so it doesn't overwhelm you. You're lucky your ability's didn't manifest when you were younger otherwise I wouldn't be able to help you." He set don the receiver and walked back over to the bed. He took a seat on the edge of the bed, the bed dipped when adjusting to his weight.

"Is that why you shut everyone out? Because you feel alone with your abilities and no one could understand having a power that was so strong it could kill its user?"

"What?" he said staring at her taken aback by her words. She had become quicker when analyzing situations. Just what had she been doing when while he had been gone?

"I've noticed that when you get angry you either avoid showing it or you only show a small portion. Is that so you don't lose control?"

"Perhaps"

"I'm sorry….. I know that I've sometimes pushed you when I didn't know what your plans were, I never knew how much of a price you had to pay for your PK." She looked saddened by the mere thought.

"It's not important."

"It is to me. I still remember when you almost died because I told you to take care of things yourself." she said turning her head away from him

"You made a valid point that day. You're always concerned for the wellbeing of others and have put yourself in harm's way for that very reason. I don't always focus on the person but the most effective way to solve their problem, Gene was the one that could emotionally connect and understand others better than I could."

Mai sat up in bed and swung her legs off the side of the bed and stood up.

"What are you doing Mai? You haven't rested enough lie back down"

"I'm fine. Anyway Monk won't be here for another hour so I'd like to walk around a bit, anyway I think I owe you a new scarf" She said smiling.

"That's a stupid reason to be leaving a hospital"

"We'll Oliver I'm an irrational 17 year old girl, what do you expect?"

"Mai!"

"Don't worry I wouldn't call you by your real name if anyone was around. Anyway I kinda like Naru better." She seemed more cheery despite there earlier conversation. The girl could really bounce back quickly from things. Mai walked over to the closet and got her bag of belonging and went into the bathroom. She got dressed but noticed her coat was blood stained and her shirt had been torn by the dog attack.

"Guess I won't be wearing this out" She said as she put her coat into the trash.

"Don't worry about it here" He said passing her his sweater

"Won't you be cold?"

"I'll be fine my coat is wear enough" He said

Naru walked Mai out of the hospital. It was gloomy outside and it looked like rain. He watched as Mai sat down on the curb with her eyes shut.

"What are you doing Mai?"

"Trying to see if I can tell if Monk is nearby. Lately I've been able to sense when you're nearby and sometimes Lin"

"Hey Mai! How you feeling?" Monk said as he came from around the corner. He had a small pink bear tucked under his arm.

"I guess it didn't work" she said

"What didn't work?" Monk asked

"Oh it's nothing"

"Here Mai I go you this, hope you're feeling better. John was really worried about you"

Day 3 Night

Nothing new had happened since I was taken to the hospital. Naru ordered me to stay in base and watch the equipment while he and the rest of the guys broke up into two groups. They intend to check a larger area at once. There was knock on the door and it slide open. Jen was standing there looking at me but I felt something wasn't right. Before I knew it he had grabbed ahold of my shirt and thrown me into the living room where I then landed on the table.

"Your finally back I've been waiting for you. You'll be the one this time" he said with a sinister grin

I started to scream and he grabbed my neck. I couldn't breathe, I tried to fight him off but he was too strong. Lin and the others came running back into the room. Jen was taunting them saying I was his and that no one could stop him. Lin used his sheki and was able to push Jen back. I was still on the ground when Jen got back to his feet and was approaching me.

"Mai run!" Monk said

He put his hands together and began excising Jun's spirit. I ran out the door and into the hallway. But something grabbed my ankle and dragged me towards the hot spring.

"Mai grab my hand!" John yelled as he came running down the hall

It was too late. I was already in the water and Jun was drowning me. I had flash backs of what he had done to the other two girls.


	4. Chapter 4 Naru's moment of truth

**Flash back 1**

I was sitting in the hot spring with my group of friends. We were talking about guys on tv that we thought were cute. After a while my friends said they'd would be going back to the room. I was enjoying the feel of the warm water on my skin and told them I'd catch up with them in a bit. I sat there with my back against the edge of the bath, my head tilted up. For some reason my shoulder began to feel very cold and I could see my breath in the air.

"You've come back to me."

I heard a man's voice but I didn't see anyone around. I pulled my towel tightly around my body and stood up. He was laughing but I couldn't determine where the voice was coming from. I ran across the bath but I felt two hands grab my shoulders pulling me backwards. I fell into the water. I tried pushing myself back up but the hands were still holding me. I turned my head and saw a glowing blue man grinning at me. I started screaming, losing air in the process. I couldn't hold my breath anymore. I gasped taking in water. My lunges were burning from each intake of water. My body became numb and my vison was getting dark. I laid motionless as the hands holding me let go.

"You'll always be mine." The man's voice said.

 **Flash back 2**

I had been working at the hot spring for two weeks now. Today I was told to clean up the fallen leaves from the bath. I swept the stone floors before fishing leaves out of the water with a small net. I felt a chill after a few minutes being there, I turned around once hearing footsteps stopping right behind me. However as I turned around there was no one there. I felt hands grab my throat and I was shoved into the water. I tried to break free but I couldn't, there were no hands on me as I felt around my neck, but the feeling of pressure was still there. I took a painful breath of water. My body jerked as I continued to drown. I saw a mist of blood in the water.

Mai's eyes shoot open as her head resurfaced and took a quick breath before being dragged under once more. Takigawa was chanting as John read from the bible. The hold on Mai began to loosen. Naru jumped into to the water taking hold of Mai and pulling her from the water. She started coughing hard as water spilled from her lips. Her eyes were blood shot from lack of oxygen, she sat here taking deep breaths before falling forward into Narus chest. She started crying hysterically gripping on to his shirt pulling him closer. Naru lifted her into his arms and walked down the hallway in the direction of base. He could feel her body shake with each sob. Her arms wrapped around him and she buried her face in the nap of his neck. Lin was standing just outside of base holding a confused Jen. Naru passed them and sat on the floor. He removed his arm from under Mai's knees and pulled her closer to him. He ran his left hand through her wet hair trying to calm to scared girl.

"Lin bring me a blanket." He said not taking his eyes off of Mai.

Lin retrieved a blanket from the bedroom and handed it to Naru. Takigawa and John ran into base but upon seeing Mai's state they didn't say anything. They stood quietly as Naru took hold of Mai's forearms and pulled them from around his neck. Mai looked up at him, her face contorted as more tears formed in her eyes. He unfolded the blanket and wrapped it tightly around her trembling form. Once covered he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back back against him. He held her like that until she fell asleep. Then carried her into the sleeping quarters and depositing her on her bed. For the rest of the night Lin watched the monitors as Takigawa and John sat silently sat the table in the living room. Naru sat cross-legged beside Mai bed as she slept.

 **Day 4 Morning**

The sun had just started to rise painting the blue sky orange. No one slept last night with the exception of Mai. Lin had stayed up watching the monitors as Monk and John tried to find more information on the infamous Jun. Naru still sat watching Mai as she slept, luckily there were no signs of her having another dream.

"I think I found something." John said as he looked up from the computer screen.

Lin turned in his chair to face John as Takigawa walked over and rested his hand on the back of Johns chair peering at the screen.

"It appears Jun worked as a farmer for the fujimura family. They owned the land around here around 150 years ago. I did some digging into the Fujimura family, they had four daughters all in their twenty's. The youngest daughter was named Fujimura Azami who had gone missing for about three week but was later found buried in the forest by the lake. At the time her father had been asked by two men for her hand in marriage. Her father had decided to marry her off to a noble from a nearby village."

"So are you saying Azami could have been the spirit that possessed Mai?" Monk asked.

"It's possible. Remember that spirit had been waiting for someone and confused Naru for her lover." John turned his chair around to face both men.

"The two girls who drowned in the spring were also similar in appearance. Gima Yuki age 19 was about 5'5" with short brown hair and brown eyes. Izumi Mikka age 24 was 5'2" with brown hair and brown eyes. If you think about it Mai would fit that description as well." Lin said while looking over the autopsy records.

"So this bastard has something against petit women with brown hair and eyes then? "Monk said with his arms cross over his chest.

"I would reckon so."

It was midday and I hadn't left the sleeping quarters once. My wet cloths had dried as I sat here next to Mai. She let out a soft groan as she winkled her forehead and opened her eye. She rolled on to her side and silently stared at me.

"How are you feeling?" I asked

"My eyes, head and ankle hurt." She said in a raspy voice.

I pulled the cover back so her feet were exposed. I lifted her left pant leg noticing how it was still damp along with the blanket. I saw dark bruise in the shape of a hand print was around her ankle.

"You should change into some other clothes before you get sick." I said as I stood up.

"I can't."

"Why not?" I asked confused.

"My bag in still in that tree over there." Mai pointed her finger to a tree just outside the window.

I walked over to the window, stepping onto the windowsill I held on to the wall with my right hand and reached out to the bag with my left. I had to inch my fingers closer before the bag was in reach enough to grab the handles. I pulled it and stepped off the sill. I walked over to Mai who was now standing up, handing her the bag she put it on the floor and unzipped it. I saw a few cans of tea and some bags of chips. She dug further down and pulled out a pair of navy blue jeans and a red t-shirt. I walked her out of the room and into the living room which was empty. I slide the next door open that lead to base.

"Mai are you alright?" Takigawa said as he walked up to her and pulled her into a hug."

Mai just nodded her head.

"I'm glad you're up and about Mai." John said as he gave her a small smile.

"Where are the two of you going?" Lin asked from his seat at the monitors.

"I'm taking her to the bathroom to change."

We left base after that and walked down the hallway. Once we reached the bathroom I waited outside the door as Mai went in. I was standing there for a few minutes when I heard her crying.

 **Knock Knock**

"Mai can I come in?"

The door slowly opened and I stepped inside. Mai had already changed her clothes and her back was to me and was crying into her fist. I took hold of her shoulder and slowly turned her to face me. I moved her hands away from her face and cupped her left cheek in my hand. I wiped her tears away with my thumb.

"Please Mai….. Don't cry anymore." I said as I looked into her eyes.

She just looked at me her lips were trembling. I hated that Jun had shaken her up this much. I'll enjoy sending that sadistic bastard to hell where he belongs for what he's done. I closed my eyes and leaned forwards pressing my lips to hers. I could feel them shaking. I opened my eye slightly and saw that Mai's eye had gone wide. I pulled away from her and smiled. She looked up at me confused.

"Mai." I said as I leaned in again recapturing her lips with mine.

I slide my hand from her cheek to the back of her head holding her soft hair between my fingers. I tilted my head to the left giving her small pecks. I felt her move her lips against mine as she kissed me back. I felt this weird sensation in my chest, I'd never felt it before but I knew it wasn't a bad feeling but a good one. Mai's took hold of my jacket as the kiss deepened. I could feel her grip tightened and I placed my left hand on the small of her back pulling her closer. We broke the kiss for air, Mai was breathing kind of hard and her cheeks were red.

"We should head back now. Let's get this case over with." I said as I pulled the door open and took Mai's hand.


	5. Chapter 5 Visions from the past

**A few hours later in base**

It was four o'clock in the afternoon and nothing had happened. Lin had gone to get some sleep as Naru watched over the monitors. Takigawa was sitting at the table eating a bag of Mai's chips since he was unwilling to leave and go buy food in case the Jun decided to attack again. Jen had stopped by the room around noon with a tray of food, to which Monk stormed up to him and told him not to return again until they we sure the spirit was gone and rejecting the food since he was concerned it was poisoned. Mai sat quietly at the table looking over the notes John had written down on his findings. John had volunteered to go get the food taking Takigawa's car.

"Why hasn't anything happened yet?" Takigawa asked as he dumped the rest of the bag of chips in his mouth.

"I'm not sure but perhaps the spirit had weakened because of last night's event." Naru said as he stood up and walked over to the window.

"Hey Naru don't you think we should try calling Ayako and Masako and seeing if they can come? I'd feel better if Mai got away from here for now."

"That wouldn't be a good idea, we don't know if the spirit would follow Mai if she left. Also with the addition of two more women coming here Miss Hara and Miss Matsuzaki might end up being targeted as well. It gave us enough trouble trying to protect Mai, can you imagine what it would be like if all three of them were attacked at once?" Naru said as he looked at Mai.

"Naru's right. I wouldn't want them to have to go through the same experience as me." Mai said as she looked up from the notebook.

John returned an hour later carrying two large plastic bags. He had found a diner a few miles away at a rest stop and ordered burgers and fries for everyone. Monk helped John place all the food on the table. Mai went into the sleeping quarters and gently shook Lin, waking him up to eat. They both walked back into the living room and sat down with the others.

"So were there any new developments while I was asleep? " Lin asked as he opened his plastic container.

"So far nothing has happened. No drop in tempter and no EVP's of any kind." Naru said.

The older man just nodded his head as he took a bite of his food. Mai sat next to him placing the lettuce and tomato on her burger and pushing the raw onion aside. John and Monk did the same as Naru went over to the kitchen part of the living room to make himself some tea. Once everyone had finished eating they throw the empty containers in the plastic bag they had come in. As Mai was walking back to her seat she became light headed and her eyes drooped. Within seconds she has collapsed to the floor with a thud, the room was in a panic as all four men ran to her side. Takigawa turned her over onto her back and looked her over. No one could see anything to be alarmed about, there were no injuries and none of the monitors were picking up anything unusual. Mai just looked as if she had fallen into a deep sleep.

"We should move her back to her bed." Lin suggested as he picked her up and carried her to the next room.

It was ten o'clock when it was decided that Takigawa and Lin would take the first shift of the night and watch the equipment. Naru would go to sleep as John stayed awake and would watch over the Mai. Naru laid down on his bed with the covers over him and rolls onto his side. He felt uneasy about everything that had happened today. The lack of activity after the event of the night before were strange. The spirit had attacked viciously for two days in a row, both inside and outside of the hot springs but then stopped. He pondered the possible reasons for this but the only reasonable answer was the he had been weakened by Father Brown and Takanawa's exorcisms. Soon he was pulled from his thought as sleep over took him.

 **Mai's dream**

Mai as standing alone in the darkness as green and yellow orbs floated by her. She started walking, Mai knew this was the beginning of one of her dreams.

"Might as well get this over with. Wait but when did I fall asleep, wasn't I just in the living room eating?"

The scenery started to blur into many different colors until the lake appeared. It was late at night and Mai was standing by the lake. There was a rustle of bushes moving and she turned towards the sound. There stood Naru in old style clothing. He walked towards her with a smile on his face. Naru walked to Mai and wrapped his arms around her pulling her close to his body.

"Hello Jun what's gotten into you today?" she said with a giggle as she rested her cheek against his chest.

"I have something to ask you Azami."

"And what is that?"

"I wanted to ask you to become my wife."

Mai stepped back her eyes were rimmed with tears as she looked up at Naru. She leapt bringing her arms around his neck. Naru lifted her into the air as he spun around in circles.

"Should I take that as a yes Azami?" He asked with a smile on his face.

"Of course I will! I love you Jun always remember that. I want no one else but you." She said happily.

For a while they were quiet, He could see that something was bothering his beloved deeply. He cupped her cheek making her look up at him,

"What the matter my love?"

"I….I wanted to ask you if you could do something for me….."

"Tell me, I'd do anything for you." He said as he smiled at her.

"Could you ask my father for my hand? I just don't feel right going about this without his approval. It would mean a lot to me if you would." She hugged him tightly waiting for his answer.

"If that what you wish than I shall."

Their surrounding went black for a moment and then Naru found himself standing before Lin who was sitting before him.

"Jun what have you come here for, shouldn't you be working now?" Lin asked.

"My apologies sir Fujimura but I have come to speak to you about a very important matter." Naru said as he sat up from his bow.

"Is that so, and what is it you wish to discuss?"

"I'd like to request your Daughter Azami's hand in marriage."

"That's not possible. I've already given my consent to the noble in the next village. Do you really think I'd allow my daughter to marry some farmer that works for me? It's laughable." Lin stood leaving the room and sliding the door shut.

The scene changed to the lake again. Mai was sitting by the lake playing with the water. Naru approached, his blood was at a boil as he saw her. Mai turned her head and looked in his direction with a smile on her face. She patted the spot beside her but he would not sit and only stood there with a stony expression.

"Jun what's the matter?" Mai asked as she got to her feet.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me you were given to another?" He shouted.

"What are you talking about?" her eyes grow with concern as she step closer.

Naru stepped forward taking hold of her arms forcefully. He shook her as he yelled about his talk with her father. Mai eye went big as tears streamed down her face. She shook her head at the accusations.

"IT'S NOT TRUE, I SWAR IT'S NOT TRUE!"

"HOW CAN IT NOT BE TRUE? DO YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE YOU KNEW NOTHING OF THIS?!" He yelled as his grip grow tighter on her arms as they began to bruise.

"JUN STOP IT YOUR HURTING ME. WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO YOU?" she cried as she tried to pull away from him.

"I won't let him have you. No one will ever have you but me." His voice had gone low and dark.

"What are you doing Jun?"

Naru knew what was coming, this was the same dream as before. Soon he'd push Mai into the water drowning her. This had been the events that lead to Azami's death. He had no control over anything all he could do was watch as it played out once more.

 **Splash**

"JUN PLEA….. DON'T?" Mai pleaded before being submerged under water again.

It was over once Mai stopped trashing about her body was still and her eyes were closed. Naru body was shaking violently as the adrenalin ran out.

"Wh…. What have I done? WHAT HAVE I DONE!?" He screamed as he pulled the lifeless body of his lover from the water.

He laid her down on the grass wiping the stray hairs from her face. He shook her trying to wake the girl yet she never opened her eyes. He knew too well what he had done, He had killed the women he loved and her lifeless form was all that remained of her. He picked her up into his arms and began to walk deeper in the woods to where a large tree stood. He set her down on the ground as he started digging a hole with his bare hands. He clawed at the dirt as tears fell from his eyes. Once the hole was big enough he stood up and went to her. Naru picked up Mai and carried her to the grave. His lips were pressed against her temple as he placed her down. He brushed her hair to the side so it wouldn't obscure the beauty of her face. He leaned over and placed one final kiss on her cold lips before showering her with handfuls of dirt. Naru and Mai both watched as the Fujimura household was in an uproar, people ran around the property screaming Azami's name. Time speeded up and soon there were screams and cries that the girl had been found. Lin fell to his knees as he saw his daughters decomposing body half buried in the dirt. It took six men to pull him away from the sight. Everything faded and then Naru found himself laying on the floor of the main house. He was bleeding from the head and one eye was swollen shout. Lin stood before him holding a knife.

"IT WAS YOU WASN'T IT? YOU KILLED MY DAUGHTER!" Lin was in raged he moved closer to Naru who tried to crawl away.

"NO I DIDN'T MEAN TO, I LOVED HER!" he yelled back, blood slipped down his face into his mouth.

Lin charged plunging the knife into Naru's stomach just below the ribs. Naru coughed up blood as the agonizing pain shot through him. Lin glared into his eyes as he twisted the blade with his teeth clenched. Naru tried pushing Lin off of him but the man never loosened his grip. He drew the knife back once more and plunged it into Naru again. The wounds were too great and Naru lay motionless on the wooden floor as he slowly bleed out. He died moments later, Lin dragged the body outside into the rain and buried it under the crawlspace under the house.

 **Day 5 4:15 am**

Naru awoke from his dream drenched in sweat and breathing hard. Lin and the others were around him staring at him with concerned looks on their faces. He turned his head to see that Mai was still soundly asleep in her bed. He could still feel a slight burning sensation from where the knife had stuck him. He throw the blankets off of himself and pulled his shirt up. There he saw a red line about an inch long, the dream had manifested and injury.

"So what happened? You were screaming in your sleep." Takigawa said.

"I was pulled into Mai's vision again. It was of the past just before Azami's murder."

"So was it Jun who killed her?" John asked.

"Yes. He flew into a rage after finding out that she was to marry someone else. He drowned her in the heat of the moment and then was later killed by her father." Naru explained.

"I don't understand if Mai had one of her dreams why didn't she react like you did? She never moved or made a sound." John said.

"I don't know but we have to get rid of Jun as some as possible." Naru said.


	6. Chapter 6 Stand off

Mai stood alone in the darkness of the astral plan. She didn't understand why she hadn't woken up after having another vision. As she looked around she spotted a figure standing off in the distance.

"Naru?"

The figure began to walk closer yet its face was still masked by the darkness. Mai could tell it was a man but the closer he got to her the more she wanted to back away. She could feel the fear building deep within her stomach. Her heart was beating fast but she couldn't bring herself to move.

"Azami your back. I'll never let you leave me again."

Before Mai knew it Jun was standing behind her with his arms wrapped tightly around her. His lips were so close to her ear that she could feel the vibration of his words. It shocked her to the core so she tried to pull away but the more she struggled the more he crushed her against his body.

"Let go of me I'm not Azami!"

"Don't say such things. Do you think you can lie to me?"

"You're wrong. You killed Azami, don't you remember?

"Enough…. Look at me."

"NO!"

Everyone's head turned to Mai as they heard her mumbling in her sleep. Her eyebrow were knitted together and she was jerking her shoulders. Naru ran over taking hold of her and trying to shake her awake. Mai's head jerked backwards as if forcefully pulled.

"Mai open your eyes. Mai!" Naru shouted.

Jun had taken hold of her chin and yanked her head back causing a sharp pain to shoot down the side of her neck. She met his dark gaze, he was crazed there couldn't be any other explanation.

"I'm not Azami!"

"IS IT BECAUSE OF HIM, THE MAN YOUR FATHER GAVE YOU TO?

The astral plan light up to a fogy white mist. Once the mist settled Mai could see what was going on in the sleeping quarters. Naru was yelling for her to wake up as he shook her harder.

"NARUUUUUUU!"

"IT'S HIM ISN'T IT, I WON'T LET HIM TAKE YOU FROM ME!"

"Naru look at that!" Takigawa yelled.

Naru's turned his head and there he saw Mai being held by a purple figure. She had projected herself to the room. The purple mass was in the outline of a man but had no visible face. It wasn't hard to figure out who this spirit was. Things within the room began to shift and move around with loud banging sounds. Naru was thrown backwards to the ground. Monk clapped his hands together starting the ritual. The purple apparition lost its hold on Mai and the projection vanished. Mai woke from her sleep and jumped to her feet running over to Naru. He was holding his left shoulder as it had taken most of the impacted of the fall. Everyone was now on high alert looking around the room trying to see where the next attack would come from. The room grow deadly silent and everything that had been moving ceased abruptly. Then the alarms in base started to blare. Lin ran into base seeing that all the cameras read video error and the temperature was dropping rapidly. One monitor flew from its place on the shelf and slammed into the wall right by Johns head. The poor priest only had a split second to dodge it. The windows in base and the living room shattered, the wooden table exploded sending projectiles flying in every direction.

"EVERYONE MOVE. WE NEED TO GET OUT OF THIS ROOM!" Naru shouted as he got to his feet.

The group ran into hallway as the lights began to flicker and then go off completely. At either end of the hallway they could hear the sounds of growls which could only mean the dog spirits had returned.

"Damn it were to we go now? I can't put up a barrier unless were in a room." Takigawa said.

"Wait there a storage room on the second floor." Mai said having seen the very room when they had first arrived.

"Let's go!" Naru yelled as he ran down the hallway.

The rest of the group followed after him. The hallway had become so cold that Mai could see a thick white mist escape her lips as she ran. It was getting more dangerous, Mai knew that when a spirit was trying to show itself that it would drain power from electrical appliances and even the air itself. Half way down the hallway were the stairs leading to the second floor. Lin had taken the lead and was already slide open the storage room door when Monk and John had reached the top of the stairs. Mai was right behind Naru as he entered the room when something took hold of her ankle and violently pulled her to the ground. She turned over on to her back and saw the lower half of a man's face smiling sinisterly at her. She was crawling backwards trying to get into the storage room when a strong arm wrapped its self around her waist and pulled her in the rest of the way. Monk threw his relic to the ground just in the doorway sealing the barrier. Jun walked forwards with his shoulders hunched and his eye's glaring at Mai. He approached the barrier but stopped as it would not allow him any closer. Mai felt a warmness on her back, it was the first time she had noticed it after being pulled safely into the room. She turned her head to see who it was when she saw that she was practically sitting in Naru's lap. Naru was glaring intensely at Jun. he slide Mai off his lap and on the floor just beside him and stood up. He walked to the barrier and stopped just centimeters before reaching it. His back was stiff and both hands were clenched into tight fists. Both Naru and Jun stared one another down. No one spoke but watched silently at the exchange.

"I won't let you take her from me." Jun said.

"She's not for you to have." Naru retorted.

"Azami is mine, I don't care how wealthy your family is. She is mine and mine alone."

"Azami has long since died and so have you. I suggest you pass on before I have to do something drastic." Naru threatened.

"Ha she isn't dead she sits right there before me." Jun lifted his hand a pointed at Mai.

His gesture sent shivers down Mai's spine. He really did believe that she was his lost lover. Mai slide herself back more trying to put herself at a greater distance. She didn't like how intensely he was staring at her. There was a darkness in his eyes that felt like an abyss that could swallow her whole if she didn't stay away.

"That is not Azami, That girl doesn't belong to you. You've killed two others trying to replace the one you lost. I won't allow you to take Mai!" Naru said, his voice becoming darker in tone.

"What I want is mine and that mean that she is mine." Jun said smugly as he grin deepened.

"SHE ISN'T YOUR SHE'S MINE!" Naru yelled.

There as a burst of air emitting from Naru's body. There was a static charge in the air and it was just like before in the cave. Naru was building up his power as his anger grew. This frightened Mai. She knew if she didn't stop him he'd most likely end up using his power and dying. She slide back across the floor towards Naru reaching out for his hand. The static charge shocked her as she got closer but she couldn't back away this time. She forced her hand through the shocking pain and took hold of Naru.

"NARU PLEASE STOP!" she yelled pleading with him.

Naru turned his head and looked at Mai who was kneeling just behind him. Her eyes were filled with concern. He averted his gaze and shut his eyes trying to calm himself. He did as Gene had once instructed him to. He shut his eye and focused on his breathing. Soon the air in the room became less dense and Mai no longer felt the pain in her hand as she held on to Naru. When Naru turned back to where Jun was he was gone and the dog spirits with him. Takigawa and John both looked at each other perplexed. Monk leaned over slightly to John.

"Hey did I miss something or did Naru just say Mai was his?" Monk whispered.

"No I think you heard that clearly since that's what I thought he said as well." John said.

Both men stopped their discussion after getting a look from Lin that read this wasn't the time for that. Both John and Monk bowed their heads in apology and would have to wait until the case was solved before reading anymore into the situation.

 **Author's note:**

 **Sorry for the late update I've been having a bit of writes block with this story lately but I'm coming up with some pretty awesome idea. Thanks for reading**


	7. Chapter 7 Searching for Jun

It was now six in the morning and the group still sat in the storage room protected by the barrier. Lin kept guard at the door as John would occasionally peer out of the window to look for signs of Jun or his spirit dogs.

"So Naru any ideas why this guy is so feakin strong?" Monk asked as he leaned against some boxes.

"He must be attached to something here otherwise it's unlikely he'd be this powerful."

"Oh come on the one time Ayako isn't here and it just so happens to be a love crazed earth bound spirit?" He said sarcastically.

"It appears so." Naru said.

"Alright so we know he's attached to something within the area of the hot spring and that lake, but do either of you know what the object is?" Lin asked directing his question to Naru and Mai.

"There so many trees here, this case would have been right up her ally." Monk said out loud not paying attention to the conversation.

"Enough Takigawa we can't do anything about it now." John said as he took a seat on the floor.

"Azami's body was found a long time ago, and I don't recall Jun ever giving her a ring when he asked to marry her. John did Jun own any land around here?" Naru asked.

"From what I read all the land here was owned by the Fujimura family, there was no information on Jun's life outside of working here."

"What about his body?" Mai asked quietly.

"His body?" Monk asked.

"Yeah….. In my vision Azami's father murdered Jun and hid his body under the house. John was there any mention of Jun going missing or his body being found?" Mai asked looking over at him.

"Well I'm not really sure. I only looked up information on the history of the previous land owners. But I could do some more digging around. Maybe get Yasu to help me." John said as he looked over at Naru for approval.

"Do you think it's safe to head back to base?" Mai asked.

"Well nothing's happened so far. Jun only seems to really attack when the sun is down so I'd say we'd be alright. How bout it Naru?" Monk asked.

"Alright…..But let's leave in formation. Lin, Takigawa you two take the front. Mai you'll be right behind them and John and I will take up the rear."

"Okay." Everyone said together.

Monk walked over to the door and bent down to pick up his relic. The barrier vanished and he and Lin looked down both end of the hallway before exiting the room. Mai stood in the doorway for a moment. She felt uneasy seeing how Jun could pop back up at any moment. She turned her head and looked back at Naru who was watching her. He nodded his head to reassure her that he'd be right behind her. With one last deep breath she exited the room following closely behind Monk and Lin. They descended the stairs and at the landing Monk and Lin scanned each end of the hallway. With no sign of any danger they continued down the hallway to base. Lin slide open the door and stepped inside base. The monitors still read system error and the floor was littered with broken glass. Once everyone was inside John went to the phone to call Yasu. Luckily the phone was still working as he dialed Yasu's number. By the time John had finished his phone call Lin had the monitors up and running again after repeatedly resetting them. Monk sat on the floor looking for any info on Jun but to no avail.

 **A few hours later**

The phone in base started to ring as Naru picked up the receiver. The whole room looked at him as he spoke on the phone. It was clear from his responses that Yasu had found very minimal information. When Naru put down the receiver and turned around he was met with four pairs of eyes looking at him intensely. Naru knew all too well that this case had dragged on far too long and it had drained the group mentally and physically.

"Yasu informed me that there was never any mention of Jun going missing or any employees for that matter. However he did learn that the Fujimura home was demolished not long after Azami's body was recovered. It appears that the head of the family had ordered that home to be burned to the ground."

"So do you believe that Azami's father burned the home to hide the crime?" John asked.

"It can't be confirmed but it is plausible." Naru said flatly.

"Do we have a floor plan of the original home?" Monk asked.

Lin took the laptop from Monk and opened a file. After scrolling through some files and pictures he stopped and then clicked on an image. He turned the laptop around so the other could see the screen. On the screen was a very traditional Japanese home, Mai knew the doors in front were the ones that lead to the meeting room where Jun was killed. Naru watched Mai's expression, if he wasn't mistaken he'd say that she looked sad.

"This is the Fujimura home and this is the hot spring today." Lin explained as he pulled up another image.

"So if I'm right the crawl space would be where the bath is today. Right Naru?" Mai asked looking over at him.

"Yes that is about right. Lin let's get the equipment from the van. John go ask Miss Morimoto if she minds us digging up the bath. Tell her what we've learned so far and how dire the situation has become." Naru ordered.

"Wait…. What about me and Mai?" Takigawa asked.

"You two stay here and keep a close eye on Mai incase anything happens." Naru said as he and Lin stepped into the hallway.

"Wait! I want to help too." Mai said in haste.

This caused Naru to stop walking and turn around to return to the room. He stood in the door way looking at Mai.

"You're staying here. It's too dangerous for you to be wondering around."

"I'm part of this team too Naru and I want to help out." Mai said stubbornly.

"Let me guess you're not going to drop this until I let you help right?" Naru said annoyed.

"Yup pretty much." Mai said as she gave Naru a bright smile.

"Fine you come with us. Takigawa go see if there's a way to drain the bath."

"I'm on it." Monk said as he followed Mai out of the room and down the hall to the hot spring.

Outside Lin pulled on the handle of the van and found the door locked. He felt around in his pockets only to learn he didn't have his car keys with him. He left Naru and Mai at the van as he ran back to base to get the keys. Mai stood leaning against the side of the van looking up at the sky.

"Are you alright?" Naru asked breaking the silence.

"Mh….yeah I'm fine." She answered without altering her gaze.

Naru walked closer to her and extended his hand out to her with the intension of stroking her cheek to get her attention. However he heard the sound of Lin approaching and let his hand fall to his side. Lin unlocked the back of the van and pulled out the box containing the ground penetrating radar. As they walked back through the hallway John met up with them.

"What did Miss Morimoto have to say?" Naru asked as he passed John.

"She agreed to let us dig. I also took the liberty of recommending that she and Jen leave the area for the time being." John said.

"Good, now let's get started." Naru said as he opened the door to the bath.

Takigawa was kneeling by the edge bath, there was a grey tube stinking into the water. The other end was connected a pump that was attached to a drain. The water would take some time to drain.

 **Two hours later**

All the water was completely drained and Lin was sliding the radar across the tub floor. It took a while for the radar to show an obstruction. Monk and Lin took turns hitting the floor with pickaxes. John and Naru took over once Lin and Takigawa got tired. Mai was left sitting against the wall by the doors. She was feeling anxious about being in the same room where she had nearly been drowned to death in.

"AHHHHH this is taking so much time." Monk wined.

"It would go faster if you'd shut up and keep working." Naru said pointedly

Takigawa sighed as he shot a glare at Naru. He shoved the shovel into the hard dirt and step on the blade driving it deeper down. He scooped up the dirt and added it to the pile off to the side. Each time the mound of dirt grow bigger the faster Mai's heart would beat. She was getting more nervous but she didn't know why.

"Naru." Mai called out.

Naru turned his head to her but before Naru could ask what was wrong Monk spoke.

"No way. How is this possible?"

"What is it?" Naru asked as he walked closer and stared into the hole.

"He's not decomposed. He looks as if he was just killed." Lin added.

Within the hole laid Jun, even after hundred and fifty years he was still made of flesh and bone. Mai made her way closer to get a look and whatever it was that got the guys speechless. As she saw the face of the man who had tried to killer she felt a chill run down her spin. In that moment Jun's eye's shot open and a dark smile graced his lips. All four of the men took a step away from him as he got to his feet.

"So I see you've found me? Now how about you fulfill a dead man's wish and bury me alongside my love." Jun said as he looked directly as a trembling Mai.

Monk ran over to Mai grabbing hold of her arm firmly and running to the door. He shoved her through the doorway with such force she fell hard to the ground of the hallway. Then he slammed the door shut cutting her off from the others. Mai laid there looking at the door as she heard shouting coming from inside the room.

"Naru look out!"

"Damn it everyone get way."

"Mai get away from here. Naru's been possessed!" Monk yelled.

Mai slide herself backwards way from the door. She could hear things breaking and Monk and Johns voices as they tried to rid Naru of Jun's spirit. Mai got to her feet and made a run for it, she was heading towards base when she saw that all the doors were opening and slamming shut repeatedly. She kept running until she made it outside. She was standing by the van looking at the entry way for any sign of the others.

 **Back at the spring**

After Takigawa locked Mai out of the room Jun charged at Naru. He propelled his spirit into Naru's body as Naru collided with Jun's skeletal remains that now laid lifeless on the floor. Lin ordered his sheki to surround all side so Jun couldn't leave the room. Monk and John started their exorcisms but were hit by objects within the room. Jun had managed to overpower Naru and took control of him. He bombarded Lin, monk and John with floating objects and rendered then unconscious before exiting the room to find the women he believed to be Azami. The lights within the hot spring flickered as he walked through the hallway. He could see the light from outside. When he stepped out into the open he saw her hiding behind the van.

"You should know better than to run off by yourself." Jun said.

"Naru?" Mai asked as she stepped out from behind the van.

"Yes….. Come here everything's alright now."

Jun gave Mai a smile, however she noticed how different it looked from Naru's rare ones. It didn't even look like Genes kind smile. She stepped away which made Jun come closer.

"What's the matter? You don't have to be afraid. It's just me after all."

 _"_ _Mai get back it's not me!" Naru yelled inside his head._

"I know you're not Naru."

"You still talk of that other man to me?! Azami his gone and you can be mine now my dear." He said as he extended his hand out to her.

"NO! I want Naru back."

Jun had grown angry and the van began to shake. Mai stepped away from it as a rock came flying by her face and broke the windshield.

" _Mai run, get away from here!"_

 _"_ _I'm afraid I cannot allow that to happen Naru… I won't lose Azami to you again. She'll join me in the afterlife for all eternity."_

Mai ran towards the woods but was prevented when a tree branch broke off and fill in her path. Jun ran up behind her wrapping his arms around her and pinning her arms to her sides.

"LET GO OF ME!" She screamed as she tried to break free on his hold.

"We can be together now. Don't fight me Azami let us go to heaven together."

 _"_ _THAT'S NOT WHERE YOU BELONG YOU BASTARD… I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS!" Naru yelled in frustration._

Jun took firm hold of Mai's shoulder and turned her around. He still had one arm tightly around her, with his other hand he grabbed Mai by the jaw and raised her chin up. She was still struggling to get away but Naru saw her pained expression. His fingers were digging into her flesh and he know there would be marks. It was just like those dreams where there was nothing he could do to stop from hurting her. Jun had only been able to unlock half of his power but Naru was still having trouble regaining control. He needed more time.

"Azami….. Or should I say Mai?"

Mai'd eyes widened at the mention of her name. Jun had never once used her name until now. He smiled at her as he brought his face closer to hers.

"Why…." She asked confused.

"The voice in my head keeps saying that name. Now what was his name again?... Naru was it?"

"Naru!" Mai called out.

"Would you like to know what he's been saying this whole time? His been pleading for you to run away. He doesn't believe we are meant to be together. Shall we prove him wrong my love?" Jun leaned closer to Mai as he eyed her lips.

 _"_ _DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!"_


	8. Chapter 8 Rude Awakening

Lin awoke on the wooden floor of the spring's bath. His head was pounding and his vison was blurry. He slowly turned his head from one side to the other looking at his surroundings. He saw John unconscious by some rocks over in the corner, and Takigawa laid not far from himself. He placed his hand on the floor and pushed himself up getting to his feet. He felt dizzy and put a hand to his head trying to focus on his balance. When he pulled his hand away he saw blood on his fingers. Just above his eyebrow was a small gash, it must of happened when the shovel slammed into his head. It was the last thing he remembered before waking up.

"Naru?... JOHN, TAKIGAWA GET UP NARU'S GONE!" He shouted as he ran through the open door.

Takigawa groaned as he lifted his head off the ground. John woke up and winced at the pain that shot up his arm. He knew his right arm was most likely broken and his sleeve was blood stained.

"Shit….John come on we have to help Mai." Monk said as he pulled himself onto the edge of the bath.

 **Back outside**

Jun tilted his head to one side as he leaned forwards closer to Mai. Their lips were only centimeters apart from touching. Mai had her hands balled up into fists as tears ran down her cheeks. The memory of Naru kissing her flashed into her head. Naru had been so gentle with her yet now his body was being used to harm her. She looked in to Naru's eyes and thought back to what Jun had just said, Naru could see and hear everything that was happening. For a split second she could have sworn that there was a hit of sorrow in his eyes.

"Naru…."

Naru slew a tirade of obscenity at Jun as he grew with anger. Jun laughed internally at Naru for his inability to stop him. Naru had been able to shift his view from Mai's lips to her eyes and what he saw made his chest achy. He needed to focus, if he was able to move his eye's he could gain control of his arms and free Mai.

Lin was half way down the hallway when he remembered that he had brought an effigy doll with him. He ran into base opening the door to the sleeping quarters as rummaged through his bag for it. Once he had it he scribbled a name on to a piece of paper and stuck in onto the doll. As he left base he heard voices coming from outside, he ran in their direction until he was standing just passed the doorway of the entrance. He saw Naru holding Mai tightly by the jaw and her face showed that she was in a great deal of pain.

"JUN!" Lin called out.

Jun was interrupted as a voice broke through the air. He turned his head and then saw the tall black haired man from before. He had hoped he had killed the man when he send the shovel careening towards his head but sadly that hadn't been the case as he now was standing a few feet away fully alive. Lin took the opportunity to throw an effigy doll into the air. A yellow light engulfed the doll and soon an image of Azami appeared. Jun froze at the sight of her and his hold on Mai loosened. Mai put her foot on his thigh as and pushed herself away from him. She landed on the ground and hurried to get to her feet.

"MAI!" Lin called trying to get her to come to where he was.

However Jun turned back to Mai which made the illusion of Azami disappear. Mai looked at Lin and then back at Jun. She took a step in the direction of Lin only to notice Jun took a step in the same direction while facing her. If she tried to run to Lin Jun would easily catch her. She took a step back as she saw Jun advance towards her. Lin brought his fingers to his lips and whistled sending his sheki in front of Jun so he couldn't get any closer to Mai. Mai took the opportunity to make a run for it passed the tree line and into the woods. Jun was left to deal with Lin for now.

"You shouldn't interfere if you want to live." Jun said as he turned his attention back to Lin.

"I can't allow you to hurt one of my comrades."

"How do you plan on stopping me?" Jun asked sarcastically.

"It makes no difference whether I defeat you or not. Keeping you away from Mai is my only concern right now." Lin said as he prepared himself to face off with Jun.

The van began to shake again yet it didn't seem to scare Lin as it had Mai. Lin knew well enough that Naru's power wasn't strong enough to lift a car. As Jun approached he sent a group of small rocks at Lin who threw himself onto the ground to avoid getting hit. The rocks penetrated the windows and walls of the hot spring. Lin couldn't do any offensive attacks for fear of killing Naru in the proses. For now he'd have to take on a defensive position until John recovered. He was the only one that could exorcise Naru without harming him. Jun threw tree branches, rocks and even a slab of wood from the front steps at him. His sheki cut through the projectiles, However Lin's energy was draining away quickly. The effigy doll had taken most of his remaining power. Jun was becoming tired with toying with Lin, he would end this quickly to follow after Mai. Jun lunched a large amount of debris at Lin. It was too much for his sheki to handle and he was overcome by it as it crashed down on him knocking him out cold. Jun smiled smugly and then turned heading off into the woods in the direction Mai had run off in.

 **Back inside**

After Takigawa pulled himself out of the bath he looked himself over for injuries. He only had minor cuts and bruises and his body was sore. John had used the large boulder to pull himself to his feet. He walked across the bath to where Monk stood. Monk helped him up onto the platform.

"Okay John let's make you a makeshift sling and go save our boss before we all get canned." Takigawa said as he wrapped a piece of fabric from the curtains around Johns arm and tied it together behind his neck.

"Right." John said as he gave a pained smile.

They made their way through the dark hallway. The only light they saw came from the end of the hall. When they reached the entrance they saw what looked like a battle field. The exterior of the building had been severely damaged. The windows were busted in and chunks on the walls were ridden with holes. John noticed a pile off in the corner but didn't think much of it. Monk walked to the van and peered inside hoping to find Mai hiding inside, sadly Mai wasn't there. He walked over to the tree line noticing that there were groves in the dirt that showed signs of a struggle. He called John over and showed him what he found. The two men entered into the woods in search of their three missing friends.

 **Deep in the wood's**

I had been running for a long time now and I let myself lean against a tree trunk to catch my breath. I looked up at the tree tops. The light that showed through the leaves told me that it was late afternoon and within a few hours night would come. I rubbed my sore jaw and let my head hang. I hoped Lin would be okay by himself, I knew he could handle himself but he didn't look very good when I saw him. I didn't even know where Monk and John where which worried me even more. Had they been hurt? I didn't even know where I was going, the only place I knew of was the lake but Jun knew where it was too. I couldn't just go running into an unknown direction a get myself lost.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed in frustration.

"Oh Mai…" A voice called from far away.

I was startled and pushed myself off of the tree. I turned in the direction of the voice and saw a figure coming closer.

"Damn." I whispered before I took off running again.

I could imagine Naru now, shaking his head in disappointment. He's scold me for giving away my positon when being pursued by a spirit. I broke through the bushes and there was the lake not far ahead of me. I was in the middle of the field when I heard the bushes rustle behind me. There was Naru standing in the shadows. I hated how scary Jun made him look. I kept my eyes on Jun I wouldn't let him sneak up behind me again. He walked closer and then stopped and stared at me.

"Do you remember this place?" He asked.

"Yeah I know of it, but it has no significance to me." I said.

"Oh but it should Mai, this is where things will end for us and then start anew." Jun said as he smiled and held out his hand to me as he took a step closer.

"So are you saying that you'll cross over and leave this place forever?" I asked.

"In due time my dear but there is still a matter I must take care of before I depart this world."

I didn't like the words he was saying and I took a few more steps backwards. He seemed far to calm and I knew that could only mean something bad was going to happen.

"I HAVE TO TAKE YOU WITH ME FIRST!" He screamed as you ran at me.

I was tackled to the ground but I had managed to get hold of both Naru's wrist so he couldn't grab me. Jun struggled to get free of my hold.

"Naru I'm sorry." I said as I drove my knee into his abdomen.

I let go of Jun as he put his hand on the spot I had hit him in. I turn over and try to push myself off the ground but Jun grabbed hold of my already bruised ankle and pulled me back. I kicked him in the chest and got to my feet.

"NO YOU DON'T!" He yelled angrily at me.

I wasn't sure what happened but I felt something hard clip me in the head before I fell onto the grass. My vison was burry and my surroundings where spinning around me. I flipped over onto my back I caught a glimpse of Naru walking towards me. I couldn't do anything to get way and I passed out.

 _"_ _MAI!" Naru shouted._

Jun walked over to the now unconscious girl and picked her up. Her head was tipped back. Naru could see that Jun was heading towards the water and he was taking his time to get there. Naru tried to shake off the panic that was building up within him.

 _"_ _I told you boy, she'd be mine no matter what you did." Jun said taunting Naru._

Naru ignored him and set off to gain control. He focused on his hands and imaged the warmth that Mai would be emitting. Jun had reached the rim of the lake. Naru at this time could feel a slight warmth on his hands but what stood out more to him was the freezing water that was rushing up his legs. Jun had stepped into the lake and the water was up to his waist. Jun smiled as he started to lower Mai into the water.

 _"_ _I got you now idiot!" Naru said._

 _"_ _Wait! What is this, how can you be…"_

 _"_ _In control? It is my body you moron. Did you really think you could have me jumping through hoops like a circus animal forever?"_


	9. Chapter 9 Last Moments With Jun

"Ma…..Mai…Wake up!" Naru said in a trembling voice.

He was having difficulty maintaining control of his voice as he was still struggling with Jun who was trying to regain control of him. Naru kept calling out to Mai who would tighten her eyes and then relax them. Mai soon woke up, she looked up at Naru through half opened eyes still in a daze. After a moment her eyes went wide as she pushed herself away from Naru and into the water. She was standing now but reflectively took a step back unaware that the water was deeper than where she was currently standing. She anticipated the lake floor but it wasn't there, she fell beneath the water and the air in her lungs escaped her due to the shocked of how cold the water was. In a panic she kicked her legs and waved her arms to resurface. Some water had gone into her nose making it burn and she could taste the lake water. She found the bottom of the lake with her foot and pushed herself to the surface regaining her footing. She was met with Naru's gaze which made her freeze. It was Naru and not Jun looking at her; even though she was relived she could still tell that he was worried.

"Mai listen you have to get away from me. Jun's still trying to control me. "

Mai nodded and tried to walk around Naru when his right hand grabbed hold of her arm. Her head snapped to the side as she looked at Naru who was clenching his teeth and had his eyes closed.

"DAMN IT!" Naru hissed.

Mai jerk her arm away trying to get away. When he didn't let go of her, she kept pulling her arm away. Jun's grip eventually loosened long enough for her to pull her arm free. She bounced in a hurry to the edge of the lake and hoisted herself up on the grass field. Naru turned around and was coming closer to her. Mai kicked him in the stomach which sent him falling backwards and into the water. Mai stood up at look around trying to spot Naru somewhere within the water but to no avail. She went closer to the edge but saw nothing until Naru resurfaced suddenly. The look in his eyes was different and he tried to grab her.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed out in surprise.

 **In the woods**

John and Monk were walking, they hadn't see anyone so far. They weren't far from the lake when they heard a scream.

"MAI!" Takigawa yelled as he went running in the direction of the scream.

John followed behind him trying to ignore the pain from his arm as it was being jostled about as he ran. They broke through the underbrush and saw Mai on the ground propped up on her elbows as she faced the lake. They then saw Naru immerging from the lake.

"MAI GET UP!" Monk yelled as he ran to her side.

She got to her feet and stayed close to Takigawa who took a protective stance in front of her. He was watching as Naru stood motionless in the lake. His head was hung and his hair was dripping wet. His lips parted as he smiled sadistically. Naru then took slow steps forward. He placed his hand on the grass and lifted his foot up beside it. As he set his other foot on land Monk put his hand on Mai's stomach and pushed her back as he also took a step away. When he felt Mai was far enough away to be safe he ran at Naru tackling him to the ground. There was a struggle as Monk tried to subdue his young boss by pinning his arms behind his back. However Jun wouldn't allow Monk to capture him so easily. He picked up Takigawa and slammed him into the ground in what Mai could only assume was a wrestling move. After a few more minutes of them tussling around on the floor Monk caught Naru in a full nelson. John walked to the lake and blessed it before taking a handful of water and walking over to Monk and Naru. He stood in front of Naru and started to say the prayer as he threw the holy water onto him casting Jun's spirit out. Naru screamed out once John finished saying the last few words of the prayer. However even with the exorcism Jun would not cross over. A purple light flew out of Naru's body as he went limp In Monks arms. The light darted in to the woods and vanished from sight.

"Hey Naru are you alright man?" Monk asked as he helped support Naru's weight.

"Let go of me." Naru ordered as he shrugged Monk off.

Everyone watched as Naru sprinted into a full run after Jun. He was determined to end this once and for all. Mai yelled after him but he was gone. John fell to the ground where he had been standing. He couldn't handle the pain anymore. He had aggravated it far too much and his body was tired. He laid on the grass with holding the elbow of his broken arm.

"Damn it.. It's just too much." Monk said as he held his ribs and was taking deep breaths.

"Hey where's Lin?" Mai asked noticing that he hadn't shown up with John and Monk.

The two men looked at each other and then back a confused looking Mai. Once they had explained that they hadn't seen Lin since his departure from the spring they assumed he had been with her and Naru. Mai turned and ran into the woods without another word. She had to fine Lin and make sure he was ok and then stop Naru from doing anything reckless. She ran with her arms up in front of her so as to not get hit by tree limbs. She could hear the crunching of leaves just ahead of her. She could make out Naru's back as he ran. She called out to him to stop but he didn't seem to hear her. She ran faster after him and by the time they reached the midway point Naru had stopped to catch his breath.

"Naru!"

"Mai go back. Stay with John and Takigawa."

"Naru Lin's missing."

Hearing her words made Naru remember what had happened outside next to the van. He took off running yet again to Mai's dismay. She hadn't rested enough as she chased after Naru. Her mouth was dry and her breathing was erratic.

 **Outside the resort**

Naru ran out from behind the tree line and over to the pile that Jun had buried Lin under. He shoved a few objects off of the unconscious man.

"OH MY GOD LIN'S DEAD!" Mai screamed as she saw Naru knelling down beside him.

"Mai relax he's not dead, look his chest is still moving which means his breathing. "

Mai walked over and knelt down beside Naru. She placed her finger just under Lin's nose and it was true, he was still breathing. Mai let out a sign of relief and tried to calm her fast beating heart.

"Stay with Lin. I'm going to call for an ambulance." Naru said before walking to the entrance of the building and disappearing inside.

He made his way to base and went to the phone. There was still a dial tone so he punched in the number and told the dispatcher where the hot spring was located and that three people were injured. When the dispatcher requested more information on the three injured people Naru hung up. He didn't have time to waste chatting on the phone. He had already pervaded them with the necessary information. He left base and walk to the bath, the door was open and he could see a glow just inside. He knew Jun was waiting for him, when he entered the room Jun was standing where his grave was. His skeleton was no longer littering the floor as it had when he possessed Naru.

"Naru….." Mai called from out in the hallway.

He couldn't allow her to interfere this time. He used his power to shut the door so she couldn't get in. The air within the room became distorted as Naru built up his power. Jun watched taunting him with his words.

"You made a horrible mistake attacking my team Jun and now I'll personally see to it that you pay for all the things you've done." Naru said coldly.

 **A few minutes earlier**

Mai had removed all the remaining debris from on top of Lin. He had a cut on his head and his white button up shirt was torn in a few spots. He had some other scratches but nothing looked life threating to Mai. She waited for a while before becoming concerned with how long Naru was taking to come back. She got a blanket from within the van and covered Lin with it. She needed to find Naru. Something in the pit of her stomach told her something bad was going to happen so she went inside. She put her hand on the wall as a guide since the light were out and she couldn't see anything in front of her. There was a dim light coming from a room a few doors down. She went to it knowing that it was base. However upon entering the room she found Naru wasn't there nor in the two connecting rooms. She went back into the dark hallway and called out for Naru but there was no response. Then she heard something sliding, she looked to the very end of the hall as the door to the hot spring shut. She ran to it tripping on the way. When she got to the door she tried pulling the handle but it wouldn't budge. She heard Naru's voice from within the room and she started pounding on the door with her fists.

 **Within the room**

As I raised my arms into the air I could hear Mai pounding on the door begging me to stop. I knew she was worried about my wellbeing but Jun wasn't going to stop. He'd follow her if we left and hunt her if I didn't stop him. I focused on the flame that emitted from my hand as I looked at Jun. He was smiling as if he thought he'd existed passed today. His ghost dogs appeared and charged at both side of me but when they got to close they disintegrated. This wiped the smile from off Jun's face.

"NO THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! SHE'S MINE I WON'T LOSE HER AGAIN. YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME." Jun screamed

"You unfortunate soul, you brought all of his on yourself. You separated yourself from the women you loved out of jealous rage, then took the lives of two innocent women that had nothing to do with you. Then you had the audacity to attack Mai…" Naru's anger grew and he was done talking to Jun.

I bent his upper body forwards and the flame shot forth. Jun let out a scream of sheer pain then was gone. I looked at his forgotten grave, there were no remnants of his skeleton. I felt a hollow feeling sweep across my chest and I released my hold on the door. Mai slide the door open and ran into the room.

"He's gone now Mai, you don't have to worry anymore." I said as I turned around to face her.

When I did one of my legs gave out and I fell to one knee. Mai ran over to me and knelt in front of me. I unintentionally leaned into her as I felt my body go weak. She put her arms around me and laid me on to the floor, my head resting on her lap.

"You're going to be alright Naru. Just stay awake okay. You did call for an ambulance right?" She said as her eyes began to water.

I nodded my head but didn't answer her. I lifted my hand to her cheek and ran my fingers over the bruises along her jaw line. They had already turned dark. She flinched at my touch since her skin must be tender from the bruises.

"Mai I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. It wasn't you." She said as tears ran down her face.

I felt my consciousness leaving me as my hand fell away from Mai's face and on to my stomach. Mai seemed to be getting farther and farther away from my sight. The last thing I heard before blacking out was Mai screaming for me.

"NARUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"


	10. Chapter 10 Shell Shock

Sirens blared as two ambulances raced down the road to the hot spring. Their red and white lights lite up the front of the building as they pulled in. The medics saw a man covered in a blanket on the ground and rushed over to him. With a medical kit in hand the EMT knelt beside the man and lifted one of his eyelids flashing a light into his eye. He did the same with the other eye and found no signs of a concussion. He fetched a small white packet from a pocket in the kit and snapped it. He then waved it under the unconscious man's nose. Lin jerked his head away as the strong smell permeated in his nose. When he didn't open his eyes the EMT repeated the gesture which made Lin sit up half way. John and Monk had immerged from the woods to the surprise of the other three medics. John was lead to one of the ambulances as Takigawa was asked about his condition and whether or not there were any more injured people. Takigawa told them about Mai and Naru who must be inside the building. Two of the medics entered the building with flashlights in hand and looked for the main office. There they found the circuit breaker and flipped it, repowering the lights. Each room was searched until they made it into the final room at the end of the hall. There they saw a brunette girl sitting on the floor with a young man in her arms. They quickly made their way over to the two teens but when inquiring about the circumstances of the boys injury's the girl didn't respond.

Mai couldn't hear anything these people were saying and her mind couldn't grasp what was happening around her. Once Naru's hand had dropped and his head tilted to the side Mai had turned numb. She couldn't move at all and had been sitting there for the past few minutes like a living statue with tears running down her cheeks. She hadn't noticed the two men that had entered the room until they had pulled Naru away from her, placed him on a gurney and carried him from the room. A third EMT entered the room seconds after the other two had left and went to Mai. Mai saw his lips moving but everything sounded as if she were underwater. She was able to make eye contact with the man but see as the girl was in shock he simple picked her up and carried her outside. Naru had already been loaded into the ambulance with John sitting beside the medic by the time Mai come outside. The man carrying her put her down and ran over to the ambulance shutting the two back doors and smacking the back to indicate they were clear to go. Mai stood there watching as the ambulance carrying Naru speed off down the dark street. Monk saw Mai and went to her taking hold of her shoulders gently and bending down just enough to be eye level with her.

"Mai?...Mai are you alright?" He asked as he looked into her eyes.

When she didn't say anything he shook the girl firmly jolting her back into reality. Mai's eyes widen and then she began to sob uncontrollably. Takigawa tried to comfort her by pulling her to his side and hugging her but she was shaking so hard it worried him. Lin was watching from his spot on the ground as the EMT continued to examine him. Seeing the state of the girl the medic called out to his coworker to give her a sedative to calm her. Mai was guided into the back of the second ambulance and was placed on the gurney. The man who had carried her outside pulled a vile and a syringe from a drawer. He tipped the vile upside down and filled the syringe till it reached the right dosage then flicking it with his middle finger. He let the air bubbles rise to the top before squeezing the plunger in and letting some of the liquid squirt out of the needles tip. Once giving her the shot the medic exited the ambulance and allowed Takigawa to sit with her. He helped lie her down on the gurney.

"Mai it'll be alright. Please just try to relax." Monk whispered to her as he stroked the side of her head to calm her.

He watched as her shaking reduced and her eyes started to get heavy. Lin entered the ambulance at this time taking a seat next to Monk. The sirens rang out again as the ambulance roared down the night street sending fallen leaves flying from out of their way.

 **At the hospital**

Naru was wheeled down the brightly lit hallway as doctors surrounded him. They hooked him up to a variety of machines and connected him to an IV drip. John followed closely behind but was prevented from going any farther since Naru was being taken to ICU. John was lead to the ER so he could be fully examined. He was then sent for an X-ray of his arm as doctored noticed how oddly shaped his arm was.

When the second ambulance arrived Mai was wheeled to the ER and placed in a private room. Takigawa was taken to an empty bed to wait to be seen by a doctor which left Lin in charge of looking after a sleeping Mai. Lin had managed to be the least injured member of the group. Yes his head was still pounding but the EMT had given him a painkiller that was taking it sweet time to kick in. He sat in a chair in the corner of the room with his head leaning back against the wall. The door to the room opened and a nurse walked in to examine and change Mai's clothes. Lin got up and walked out of the room to give her privacy. He waited in the hallway for a while before the Nurse exited the room. She had a suspicious look on her face as she left to find a doctor. When Lin went back into the room Mai was in a white hospital gown and covered with a blanket.

 **An hour later**

There was knock on the door before it was pushed open and a doctor stepped into the room.

"Hello I'm doctor Kudo, may I ask your relation to this patient?"

"She's a coworker of mine."

"Oh I see, could you tell me how long she's been being abused?"

Lin inwardly sighed, he knew that this was going to be a long talk. He knew when he saw the nurse leave that something like his would happen.

"For the past few days."

"Do you know who the culprit was? Was she attacked or was it done by a boyfriend?" He asked studying Lin's face for any signs of deception.

"No, the culprit has already been dealt with."

The doctor gestured for Lin to follow him and they both stepped out of the room. There stood two police men who wanted the details as to what had happened and why so many people had been injured. Lin did the best he could to explain that they were a group of paranormal investigators who were hired by the owner of the hot spring to get rid of spirit that was haunting the area. To say that they didn't believe him would be a major understatement, one of the officers pulled out a pair of handcuffs and was about to arrest Lin for suspicion. Luckily the authorities had contacted the owner of the hot spring informing her that five people had been transported from the hot spring to the hospital. Miss Morimoto was walking down the hallway when she spotted Lin and the police. She ran to them in a panic begging the officers not to arrest him. When she had calmed herself down she validated what Lin had already told them.

After John had his bone reset in place and fitted with a cast he went to find Takigawa. The monk was sitting on a hospital bed waiting to be taken for x-rays.

"Hey John how's the arm?"

"Still a bit tender but all in all it was a clean break and the doctors said it should heal nicely."

"That's good. Hey have you seen Lin around?"

"No I haven't. I know Naru's been taken to the ICU but I'm not sure how he's doing."

Monk gave him a nod and slide off the bed letting out a hiss as his side burned with pain. He walked over to the nurse that had spoken to him earlier and asked what room Mai or Lin where in. The nurse allowed him to leave the ER to see his friends and would go get him when the patience ahead of him were done with their x-rays. When they found the room they knocked before hearing Lin's deep voice telling them to enter. John sat in the chair by Lin as Monk went over to a sleeping Mai. He brushed the stray hair from her face and kissed her on the forehead before sitting by her feet.

"So any news yet?" Monk asked as he looked at Lin.

"So far I've only been told that Naru's slipped in to a coma and his vitals aren't the best."

The room went silent for a while as the news sunk in. Then they talked about calling the others to tell them about what was going on. When Lin decided that calling Ayako first would be the best rout, Takigawa made a peculiar face as he squinted his eyes and smiled with his teeth clenched.

"What's the matter, are your ribs hurting again?" John asked concerned about his friend's wellbeing.

"No it's not that…It's just well think about it, we call Ayako she flies off the handle and then plots to kill us all."

"Uhhh hahaha."John laughed nervously. He knew Takigawa had a point.

"So which one of us is going to call her?" Lin asked.

"…"

"…."

At hearing the silent responses from his coworkers Lin put pressure on the bridge of his nose feeling a headache coming on. He knew very well why the two men hesitated, he had bared witness to Ayako's temper multiple times. The thought of her complaining made him cringe.

"Anyone up for rock paper scissors?" Monks asked.

"The loser being the poor soul that has to call Ayako I assume." John asked casting a worried glance at Monk who nodded.

"I got a better idea let's call Yasu." Lin suggested.

Both John and Monk's head napped up to look at Lin in shock. It was clear that not even Lin wanted to call Ayako, and a one out of three chance of being spared from the women's wrath didn't sound as good as it should have been.

"Son of a gun. I didn't know you had it in you Lin." Monk said lightening up the mood within the room.

The call was placed to Yasu who after five minutes called back to inform the guys that Ayako, Masako and himself would be there sometime in the morning.

 **Early morning of the next day**

The sedative in Mai's system had worn off some, seeing as now she was lying on the bed with her eyes open but glazed over. Lin spoke with her doctor requesting that she be relisted so she could be taken home. The doctor agreed since she had no real injuries other than the bruises. Lin had left Takigawa in charge of looking after Naru while he was gone. John stayed behind as well. Lin went back to Mai's room with a wheelchair and tried to talk her into sitting up. Mai didn't say a word in response to him or even attempted to move. She laid there staring at the ceiling with that same empty look in her eyes. Lin wasn't sure if she was still in shock or if her mood was some type of side effect from the sedative. He uncovered her and lifted her off of the bed and placed her down in the wheelchair. He then wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and wheeled her out of the room. In Mai's point of view everything was like a movie clip, Shaky, distorted and not making much sense. She saw people, bright lights overhead and the strong smell of disinfectant. Then there where sliding doors and a taxi and that's when the movie ended for her as she fell back to sleep. When she awoke again she was more coherent and aware of her surroundings. She was lying on a large bed with satin sheets that were so smooth against her skin. She slowly sat up pushing the warm comforter aside. She looked around but had no idea where she was. It wasn't the hot spring but looked more like an upscale hotel room. She took notice of the sound of running water and then the sharp squeak of what she assumed to be the faucet as the water had stopped. For about twenty minutes she listened closely to the sounds of footsteps coming from the room that stood no more than two feet away from where she was sitting. Then the door opened and Lin stepped out holding a towel to his head as he was drying his hair.

"So your awake, how are you feeling?" He asked as he hung the damp towel on the back of a chair.

"A little out of it but I'm okay. Where are we?"

"This is the hotel Naru and I have been staying at. I brought you back here so I could get washed up and change."

"How's Naru?" Mai asked in a low voice.

"He's alive but not in the best condition. Right now John and Takigawa are waiting for the others at the hospital." Lin thought it best to withhold the news of Naru's coma from the girl.

"And John and Monk are alright?"

"Yes their both fine but they do have injuries. John's arm is broken and Takigawa I think has a few fractured ribs. He was still waiting to get x-rays when we left."

After talking for another hour about what had happened at the hot spring the previous night Lin went to make a phone call in the next room. Mai watched his back as he left the room, shutting the door behind him. Within a few moments he returned to tell her he needed to return to the hot spring and pick up their belongings.

"Am I going with you?" Mai asked as she was about to get out of bed.

"No, you stay here for now and rest. Once I get our things and pick up the van I'll come to get you and we'll head over to the office."

 **10 am at the hospital**

"WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS NARU THINGKING? WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN CALLED TO HELP!" Ayako screamed glaring as the two men that stood before her.

"Ayako, please you have to under…"

"NO! THIS IS COMPLETELY IN EXCUSABLE." Ayako said cutting off John.

"I'd have to agree with her. Look at the state of all of you." Masako commented.

"WILL YOU CALM DOWN AND LET US EXPLAIN. Sign, we didn't call you two because it was too dangerous. This spirit, Jun attacked Mai relentlessly for days. Poor girl even got drowned for heaven's sake." Monk said exasperated.

"Takigawa right, we were only thinking about your safety. Mai had gone through so much that she didn't want you there either." John said sadly.

For the next few hours the group sat outside the ICU looking through the glass window that separated them from their comatose boss. No one really spoke, though Ayako did go speak to Naru's doctor about his condition. She was informed that there was nothing more they could do for him but wait for him to wake up.

 **Astral plane**

I awoke only to find myself unable to open my eyes or move my body. I was lying down that much I could tell but I couldn't feel the presence of anyone around me. Mai had been with me just moments ago. Had it only been moments ago? There was no way to tell how much time had passed.

 _"_ _Am I alive?"_

I questioned if I was in limbo which I found myself to be stupid forever thinking that in the first place. For me there where only to options, cross over or becoming an earth bound spirit. I hadn't found myself in this predicament before when I used my power. I have only been unconscious for a few hours and woke up in the worst mood due to the pain I was in. For now I guess I'd have no choice but to wait and see.

 _"_ _Oh Jun how stupid you were to think that I wouldn't get the upper hand in the end. By your scream I hope you felt every bit of anger you caused to build up within me."_


	11. Chapter 11 The not so normal days at SPR

**Author's note: happy holidays everyone :) and about the last chapter sorry if I may have implied a relationship between Lin and Mai it was unintentional. I may go back and fix that at some point.**

 **Astral plane**

"Naru!?"

Mai had been wandering around the astral plane in search of Naru. She walk in one direction and the another calling his name but never getting a response. It was possible that he could be awake and that could explain the lack of response. However unknown to Mai that was not the reason. Naru could clearly hear her calls for him. He could hear her voice moving around off in the distance. Sometimes closer and others time so far away that it was barely a whisper. For hours he laid there wanting to answer her but couldn't, which only added to his own irritation. Soon her voice changed to one of distress and started to fade away until it vanished and he was back to nothing but utter silence. He was struck with a wave of panic, why did she sound so afraid? These thoughts grew darker as the moment passed. Had he not finished off Jun for good?

There was water everywhere, her outstretched hand tried desperately to reach the surface. Air bubbles blurred her vision and the laughing voice of Jun echoed in her ears. Mai could will her fingertips begin to go numb and she let out a scream.

 **Next morning**

Mai shot straight up in bed, breathing heavily and clutching the bed sheets. She quickly looked around her surroundings finding that she was in Lin's hotel room and nowhere near the hot spring. She let out a sign of relief and finally took notice of something crunchy in her hand. It was a white piece of paper but before she could examine it further the room door opening. Ayako walked in with a scowl on her face as she ranted.

"Masako's so stuck up. Little brat, " _No I couldn't possibly leave, I should be here when Naru wakes up"_. Ha! Like he'd like her more just for that. Hope he wakes up grumpy." Ayako shut the door behind herself as she finished mimicking Masako.

Mai who was sitting upright on the bed couldn't help but giggle after seeing Ayako placing her four fingers over her mouth as she spoke. She really had Masako's gestures down perfectly. Ayako looked over at the bed not expecting Mai to be awake. Her angry expression instantly faded as she looked at Mai and saw the purple marks around her jaw.

"So Takigawa and John weren't making it up after all." She said in a low voice.

"What didn't they make up?" Mai asked.

"They said the case was pretty bad but I didn't think you guys were going to be this messed up."

"Gee thanks Ayako."

"Sorry…."

"So where's Lin?"

"He's back at the hospital. He told me to come bring you your stuff so get changed and I'll take you out for breakfast." She slide the strap of Mai's gym bag off her shoulder and tossed the bag onto the bed.

"Wait… Breakfast? What time is it?"

"Its 8 am Mai."

"REALLY?"

"Yeah. This place sure has come high quality blackout curtains. See if you just pull this you'll see that the sun is already out." Ayako pulled a cored then the curtains slide open blinding Mai who quickly covered her eyes with her hand. Mai reached for her bag and went to the bathroom to get dressed. She placed the bag on the edge of the sink then unfolded the piece of paper. The characters written on it wasn't in a language she could read but it looked similar to charms that Ayako used for protection. Mai unzipped the bag and changed out of her hospital gown. She slipped the piece of paper into her pocket and left the bathroom.

"Hey Mai come her for a minute." Ayako motioned for her to sit on the bed beside her as she rummaged through her purse.

"What's the make up for?" Mai asked as she saw Ayako pullout a small bottle.

"For the bruises Mai…. You don't want to walk around with those showing do you?"

"OH! Right I forgot about those."

 **A few days later**

For two days Mai had tried to find Naru in her dreams, yet she still hadn't been successful. She could tell something more was going on then what she already knew. Ayako had acted strangely when she had asked about Naru. Lin had refused to tell her which hospital Naru was in and the others would tiptoe around the topic when she would bring it up. This only added to her problems since now she had reoccurring nightmares of being drowned. Having to leave the office and go home for the night was something she dreaded. She's become so jumpy that on a few occasions she had woken up screaming the words to the nine cuts. She hadn't thought it to be a big problem until one night she had woken up screaming and her next door neighbor had come running to her front door, broom in hand, prepared to give any intruder a thorough beating. She had apologized sincerely and told them that she had just gotten scared from a movie she had watched. From then on she avoided falling to sleep.

By the third day Naru had woken from his coma. The doctors were hesitant to let him leave without knowing the cause of his rapid heartbeat two days previously. However Naru wasn't one to be argued with so they allowed him to leave.

The everyday workings at the SPR office had changed. Naru had been out of the hospital for a week now and though prospective clients would come in not one case was taken. Naru would be in his office on the phone for the most part. The few times he tried to leave his office the phone would ring and sent him rushing back to answer it. His usual tea intake had also decreased to one or two cups a day, he was lucky to even get that which was only due to Mai slipping into his offices when he wasn't looking and placing it on his desk then quickly leaving. There had also been days when Mai would be the only one in the office as Lin and Naru would disappear without a word. The rest of the SPR team were either recovering or working so they hadn't been around the office in a while. Though Mai was aware that Yasu had been helping John since he was on winter break and Ayako would occasionally check up on both him and Takigawa.

At the current moment Mai was sitting alone at the desk, having finished most of her homework. She had avoided anything that required long periods of reading since after the first twenty or so minutes she vision would blur and the words on the page would blend and moves around. Her eyes were burning from the lack of sleep and there were times she would catch herself resting her eyes for too long that she almost fell asleep. It was already 6 pm but she didn't feel like leaving yet so she set off to boxing up any of the equipment that had to be shipped off for repairs. By 7 she have all the boxes stacked up by the door and was taking a rest on the couch and inadvertently fallen to sleep.

 **Later that night**

The front door opened and in walked Naru who mad a b line to his office with his briefcase. Lin was the next to enter but stopped as he was about to open his office door as he saw Mai laying on the couch. He shook his head, he could never tell if Mai was just a person who needed more rest than other people did or if it was her physic ability that was the cause.

" _She wasn't even working on a case, yet could her ability's be kicking in even when she's not aware?_ " Lin wasn't sure, maybe Mai had figured out what Naru and he had been doing.

Lin walked closer to the couch to wake Mai, he knew if Naru saw her like his he'd lecture her.

"Mai it time to wake up now, you know how Naru gets." He whispered.

He was only a few steps away from tapping her on the shoulder when he heard Naru's voice telling him to leave her. Lin turned around to fine Naru standing half way out of his office.

"Are you sure? It's getting late and she can't stay here."

"It's fine. I still have some research to do so I'll wake her when I'm ready to leave. You should head out, we need to go back to the school early tomorrow."

"Alright then, be careful on your way back to the hotel."

"I know."

Lin left for the night and Naru went back into his office to look at some more old records. It was a little past 11 when he finished and walked into the sitting room. There was Mai still asleep on the couch quietly mumbling. He had been aware of Mai's sleeping problems. For the past few days he's stolen glances at her and made mental notes of how her injuries were healing. They were no longer purple bruises but yellowish brown ones. Which was a sign that they would be gone soon. He still had his moments of guilt when he'd see them but what worried him the most was what has recently caught his eye. Unlike Ayako Mai wasn't as skilled in putting on makeup, so when he had seen the dark circles form under her eyes he had decided to lessen her work load to the point that all she would have to do was file whatever things hadn't been filed before they left for Miss Morimoto case. Which hadn't much since he hadn't taken a case officially. Naru stood for a while watching Mai as she slept, the mumbling he heard had grown in volume and he was able to make out what she was saying.

"Get away, Let go."

For a split second he saw her hold her breath and that was all it took for him to run over to her side and shake her awake.

"Mai. Mai!"

Naru was having a difficult time waking Mai up, he had her by the shoulders and was calling her name then without notice her hand flew up and slapped Naru's hand away. She then threw herself off of the couch on to the floor and crawled over to the wall, huddling herself in the corner by the windows. Her body was shaking and she had her hands cupped over her ears.

"Mai?"

"Get away."

"Mai it's me."

"GET AWAY!"

Naru inched his way closer to her, his hand in front of him in a non-threatening way. Mai had grown silent and was now crying in her huddled position. He extended his hand and placed it on Mai's shoulder which caused her to flinch so he backed away. He didn't want to frighten her, he knew that it was common for people who have gone through a traumatic event to experience after effect from it. He tried again this time taking hold of her wrist and moving her hand away so she could hear him clearly.

"Mai your safe. Please try to calm down a little."

Mai opened her eyes and shifted her gaze towards Naru but darted them back to the floor right in front of her before seeing the source of the voice.

"Mai?"

This time Mai faced him, her eyes still rimmed with tears. Seeing that it was Naru and not a spirit intent on killing her she gave a small sheepish smile and laugh before wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Sorry about that, I was just being silly."

When Mai tried to stand up Naru tugged on her arm and pulled her close to him. He wrapped his arms around her the same way he had at the hot spring and sat with his back against the wall.

"You don't have to lie, you're really bad at it."

"Am not." Mai protested and averted her gaze with a frown.

"You haven't been sleeping for a while now, I can tell."

Mai slumped against Naru know that she hadn't done a good job hiding her problem. She was sure that if the others had been around they would have noticed too and would have asked her straight away what was wrong. The memory of her nightmare flooded her mind again, being surrounded by darkness and reaching her hands out for the only source of light above her. Her burning lungs and her limbs going numb from the ice cold water. The worst of all was Jun's laughing voice that echoed over and over again. Mai took in a deep breath trying to calm herself down but it was useless she exhaled a shaky breath and started crying again. Naru began to tell Mai a story of Gene and his life before being adopted by the Davis's to distract her from her thoughts. He told her of the time Gene had found a bee's nest and had brought it into the orphanage not knowing what it was. When one of the nuns had saw it they had screamed, scaring Gene and causing him to drop the nest. The bee's stung both of them and a few of the other children before Naru had become upset and unknowingly used his power to lunched the nest out of the window and shut it.

"I think from then on everyone became afraid of me, and Gene became the favorite because he was normal."

"That doesn't sound very good." Mai said quietly.

"It was for me, everyone there were unsophisticated compared to me. It gave me plenty of alone time to read since I wasn't forced to interact with idiots."

"How old were you Naru?"

"About 5."

Mai started to laugh, she could imagine Naru as a little boy still being his usual narcissistic self. But it also sounded like such a sad story too. It made her happy to know that Naru was starting to open up more about himself.

Her eyes were heavy and she tried hard to keep them open. Naru remained quiet, he watched as Mai's head would droop forwards then bob back up as she tried to stay awake. It didn't take long for Mai to fall soundly asleep, Naru would keep an eye on her as she slept and wake her if she started to have another nightmare. He hoped that she wouldn't and would have a restful sleep for once.

The hours slowly rolled by and Naru saw no signs that Mai was in trouble. He had started to feel fatigued and rested his cheek on top of her head. He made sure he had a secure hold on her. Soon he too was fast asleep.

 **5 Am**

Mai woke up curious as to where she was. Then it came back to her, she had fallen asleep at the office and Naru had been there. She looked up to see Naru's sleeping face not more than a few inches away from hers. She felt a quick rush of heat hit her face as her embracement grew. One of his arms was still wrapped around her waist so she began to ease her way back without waking her sleeping boss. She was almost out of his grip when suddenly his arm tightened around her preventing her from moving further away. She paused thinking he had woken up, she stayed still but the seconds that past were unbearable and felt like hours. She tried to slide out of his hold once again but his arm pulled her close to him. Naru's head lifted and his eyes locked with hers. Mai couldn't speak she sat there frozen wishing he'd go back to sleep. Naru looked at the clock on the wall then back at Mai.

"We still have a couple of hours felt before the sun rises, you should sleep until then."

"NO! It's totally fine I can walk home now. I'll see you tomorrow." She said nervously.

Mai got up and headed over to the lockers to get her stuff. When she had her coat on and finished pulling the strap of her bag over her, she turned around and found Naru standing by the door buttoning up his coat.

"If you're going home I'll walk you."

"Really you don't need to do that." Her cheery smile turned into a frown when she saw Naru turn the handle of the door and hold it open for her.

She stepped out in to the cold winter air and waited for Naru to finish locking up. They walked down the steps. The sky was dark blue but the orange glow was growing on the horizon. They walked silently to Mai's house. Once there they said their goodbyes and Mai shut her door. Dropped her bag to the floor, kicked off her shoes and ran in her bedroom. She threw herself on to her bed and buried her face in her pillow not carrying that she hadn't taken off her jacket. Then screamed into the pillow as if she had just had the best and most embarrassing day of her life. In a few hours she'd be in school and knowing her friends they'd know something good had happened and would drag out any bit of information they could from her. For once she thought she might not mind it.


	12. Chapter 12 It's all your fault Masako!

Mai had been right about her prediction. She had sat at her desk looking out of the window until her two friends had arrived and took their seats nearby.

"Hey Mai how is Kazuya?" Her friend whispered.

The mention of his name made her cheeks turn bright red and she was sporting a big smile.

"Heyyyyyy, did something happen?"

"Mai's blushing. SOMETHING TOTALLY DID HAPPEN SPILL IT MAI!"

"SHHHHH keep it down everyone's staring at us."

The three girls looked around the room to find that the other students had gone silent and were looking at them. Mai buried her head under her arms in an attempt to make herself smaller. Her attempt to make herself disappear was interrupted by the occasional poke of her friend trying to get the juicy details of this new development in the love life of one Mai Taniyama. She had talked about it during lunch out in the courtyard this time where no one would really be able to eavesdropping.

Later that day Mai had left school and rode the bus to the big shopping center. She had never replaced the Naru's scarf due to his insistence that she stay at the hospital. The bus had arrived at her stop and she had made her way to the doors and stepped out onto the sidewalk. The shopping center was only up the next street so she flipped the collar of her wool lined coat up. The wind had picked up since this morning and her ears had started to burn from the cold. At the corner she waited for the light to change eagerly. She wanted to be inside the warm mall and away from the cold chills that ran through her body. For a split second she turned her head and caught a glimpse of something she hadn't expected to see. There was Lin behind the wheel of the SPR van driving up the street with its newly replaced windshield. Naru sitting in the passenger seat.

 _"_ _What the? Where are they going?"_

Once the light changed she walked with the crowed across the street. She picked up her pace to keep up with the van, ducking behind some parked cars as she looked. She couldn't figure out why Naru had told her not to come into work today when he said he and Lin would be in the office all day sending old case work back to the England branch. She understood that she wasn't all that Tec savvy so her being there would have been pointless. But now seeing Naru and Lin she couldn't help but wonder what they could be doing halfway across town. She hadn't noticed the curious stares from people on the street. Their thought asking why a school girl would be following a van so secretively. The Van drove away up the street leaving Mai who stood up and went to the mall. She walked in and took the escalator to one of the upper floors. She'd never been in one of the men stores before and found it intimidating when a tall man approached her asking if she needed help. She was then directed to the part of the store where the outer wear was and the associate had recommended a particular scarf to her. The fabric had been incredibly soft and it felt like it would keep Naru warm during the winter.

"What do you think of it?" The associate had asked.

"It's very nice what is it made of?"

"Cashmere. It's a very high end quality and super soft don't you think?"

"High end? Uhm how much is this?" Mai had asked warily.

"23,543 yen." He said excusing himself for a moment to help another customer.

Mai slumped forward and leaned her weight on the metal rack. She was sure she must have been having heart palpitations.

 _"_ _Yeah no problem don't you know sir that I'm the CEO of Taniyama psychic research. Yup it's a nonexistent company. 23,543 yen no problem, I don't need to eat for three weeks. Come on I'm not Naru, he's been in the business for god knows how long and he's a year older than me too. If Naru hadn't been lying about the camera I'm sure I'd be paying it off forever."_

She got herself together and carefully hung the scarf back up making sure not to crimp it for fear the thing might disintegrate. She went around the rack looking at all the black scarfs checking the price and then the softness of the material. She found one that was reasonably priced and made her way to the check out.

 **SPR a day later midafternoon**

Naru was sitting behind his desk a stack of papers sitting before him. He had gone through all of them but nothing seemed all that relevant to him. Lin and his own findings gave possible explanations yet they weren't concrete enough for Naru's liking. Lin was busy typing all of yesterday's findings. Naru heard the creak of the front door open along with footsteps. He got out of his chair and exited his office finding Miss Hara sitting on one of the couches. When she saw him she immediately stood up and walked over to him.

"Good afternoon Naru."

"What can I help you with Miss Hara?"

"Oh nothing really It's just I haven't seen you since you were in the hospital. I wanted to know how you've been." She asked giving a soft smile.

"I'm fine. If that's the reason you come here, then I guess your purpose for being here has been accomplished." Naru said dismissively.

"Naru I've been so worried about you." Masako said as she stepped forward and put her arms around his neck.

 **Outside**

Mai was walking next to John whose arm was in a cast and was held in a sling. Ayako was walking up ahead with Monk and Yasu. They had all meet up and decided to go with Mai to the office since they hadn't been around each other for a little over a week.

"So John when does your cast come off?" Mai asked.

"Not for some time I'm afraid. But my doctor did say it looks to be healing nicely. Ayako agreed, she was kind enough to take a look at my x-rays."

"That's great news."

"I only want the best care for my friends." Ayako called from ahead.

"Best care you say? I thought it was only because you got to see me with my shirt off." Takigawa commented with a chuckle.

"Ha like anyone would want to see that." Ayako retorted.

"Oh is it just me or is there love in the air?" Yasu said smiling.

Takigawa and Ayako glared back at him as if disgusted. Mai and John could only shake their heads. They were sure this would start another fight.

"Him? Are you joking?"

"Hey like you a great catch."

"I am."

"Yeah right all a guy could catch from you is a cold shoulder."

"It's unthinkable to ever believe me and Hosho would date."

"ooooo so its Hosho now is it." Yasu said with a heavy implication.

"Yeah like I'd want to date you. Unfathomable."

"Do you even know what unfathomable means?" Ayako asked sarcastically.

"Yes I do, it means incapable of being understood." Monk smiled smugly.

"Oh would you look at that. Takigawa is using big words to make himself look smart."

"SHUT UP!"

"NO YOU SHUT UP!"

Yasu slowed his walking speed until he was with both John and Mai. Now safe of the ensuing argument Mai and John just looked at Yasu and shook their heads at him. He smiled sheepishly at their disapproval. An elderly couple that looked to be in there 70's walked by taking notice on Takigawa and Ayako. The elderly man made a comment to his wife that they were acting as they had in their youth and smile at one another.

"STOP TELLING ME TO SHUT UP!"

"WELL IF YOU'D STOP TALKING I WOULDN'T HAVE TO TELL YOU TO SHUT UP. THAT'S IT I'M LEAVING!"

"It doesn't matter if you walk faster, we're all still going to the same place." Ayako said victoriously.

"SHUT UP ALREADY! YOU'RE SO ANNOYING!"

"YOU'RE ANNOYING!"

"YOU'RE BOTH ANNOYING!" Mai, Yasu and John said together.

Takigawa and Ayako turned to stare then Ayako turned her head back with a huff. Monk was the first one up the stairs and opened the door.

"No freaking way, two timer!" Monk said shocked.

Mai ran up the stairs to see what was going on. Once she reached the landing and looked into the open door she stopped mid step with her mouth hanging open. There stood Masako embracing Naru whose hand was on her hip.

"WE'RE OUT OF TEA!" Being unable to come up with a better excuse to leave she shouted and then ran back down the stairs.

"What Lin's two timing?" Ayako asked rushing up the rest of the way only to be surprised at what she saw.

Yasu and John made it to the landing not long after Ayako did. They too stood there surprised at the sight. Monk told Yasu to follow after Mai which he did but lost her once he got to the corner of the next block.

"Masako would you mind kindly unhanding me." Naru said.

Masako let go reluctantly. Once released Naru headed in the direction of his office but before Naru could escape the bombardment of accusations Takigawa started to lecture him on his treatment of Mai. John couldn't help but side with Monk though he didn't voice is opinion. That one event at the hot spring had given them both the impression that Naru had taken a liking to Mai.

"You do that after what you said at the hot spring Naru? You shouldn't play with a girls feelings like that. I thought you were a better guy then that."

Naru didn't say anything in response but went in to his office and shut the door. He couldn't believe how much poor timing he was dealing with. What they saw wasn't what it looked like at all.

"Masako? Really Naru? You could have done better." Ayako frowned.

"And what is that supposed to mean Miss Matsuzaki?" Masako asked irritated.

"Just what I said, Naru could do way better."

"Hey so what was this thing about Naru saying something anyway?" Yasu asked silencing the room.

Masako and Ayako both stopped their bickering and looked at Monk. He took a step back feeling the intensity of their stare. He knew he had messed up, now they wouldn't leave him alone until he tells them. Seeing no way out of this Monk blurted out what happened and then grabbed John and left the office. The two girls followed after them feeling as they hadn't been given a sufficient answer and wanted more details. Yasu went along with them not wanting to miss out on the next explanation. He was somewhat amused by the incident since Ayako claimed that Naru had picked second best and hadn't settled for Masako.

Naru sat at his desk rubbing his temples in a circular motion trying to stop the headache that was starting to grow. The noise in the office had died down and the he heard the door slam shut.

 **Two hours later**

After storming out of the office Mai had found herself sitting on a park bench with her knees tucked up to her chest. She had sat there for a long time, the pain in her chest was still there and she had to take deep breaths to get her thoughts back together. It was far too cold out to stay there any longer so she walked to the nearest store and bought a box of tea. Taking her time she then walked back to the office.

Naru heard the front door open but didn't leave his office to see who it was, he already knew. He could hear Mai's footsteps go from the kitchen to the receptions desk. Then the sound of the chair being pulled back. A few hours had gone by once He had felt the need to request some tea. He listened to the chair move, followed by heavy dragged out footsteps and after a while the whistling of the tea kettle. Mai stepped in to his office without knocking and set the cup of tea down with a thump. Before Naru could open his mouth to speak she was already out the door which she slammed behind her. He exhaled deeply as the frustration started to grow once again.

 _"_ _Why is this happening now? Of all the times it had to be now? I wasn't in the hospital so long ago and I even gave everyone time off. Well except for Lin that is."_ Naru thought as he leaned back in his chair.

 **6 pm**

It was already starting to get dark outside when Naru requested his last cup of tea. This time he was standing in front of his desk when Mai came into the room. She didn't look and him but kept her head down and her eyes focused on the part of the desk where she always left Naru his tea. When she put the tray down Naru saw his chance and took it.

"Mai we need to talk."

"No need, really it's fine." She wanted to sound as if nothing was wrong but her tone sounded harsher than she had thought.

"Mai. You're mad, so we should talk abou…."

"NO! Naru I get it its fine. I just read too much into to what happened on the case."

"What? That's not…"

"I know you only kissed me to make me feel better or take my mind off of what happened because I was freaking out and I thank you for that."

"Mai"

"No let me finish, I just want to say thanks."

"What?"

"Thank you. There probably weren't any feelings behind that kiss but I'm happy I could share my first kiss with someone important to me. So thanks." Mai said somewhat choked up.

Naru stood there for a while after Mai left the room. He had every intention of explaining what happened earlier but every time he tried to speak Mai cut him off. Then to hear Mai say that she thought there were no feelings on his part was just unexpected.

Mai went to her locker and got her coat and bag, she then packed up her school books and left the office. It was only after the door shut that Naru snapped out of it. He walked out of his office only to find the reception area was empty. Lin had heard most of the conversation that was going on next door. He hadn't ease dropped on purpose, in fact it was only do to the lack of having the rest of the group around that it had been quiet enough for him to hear through the wall. He saved what he was working on and stood up from his chair to talk to Naru. His charge was standing by the windows peering down at the street below.

"You should try to sort this out as soon as possible." Lin said.

"I know that Lin. I don't think you should be involving yourself in this matter."

"I'm not trying to get involved, I only wanted to give you some advice. The longer you hold off fixing this the worse it'll get."

"I know that already."

"So why don't you go after her?"

"It won't do any good talking to her right now. She won't be receptive to anything I try to say since she's already come up with her own conclusions. I'll wait until tomorrow at least then she might be calm enough to hear me out." Naru said as he leaned against the windowsill.

"Very well, but do make sure you tell her everything." Lin said with a knowing look.

Naru could tell by the look on Lin's face what he meant. He had been the only one to see his behavior when they had returned to England all those many months ago.

 **Mai's house**

Mai walked down the street of her block, waving to her neighbor who had just pulled into their driveway. She pulled her keys from her pocked and slipped it into the lock and pushed her door open. She locked it and let the strap of her bag slid to the floor with the thud. Mai kicked off her shoes and hung up her coat. Then walked to her room pushing open the door and belly flopping on to the bed. She pulled her pillow closer to herself and buried her face in it. It was only then that the pain in her chest became unbearable and the tears started to form in her eyes. She rolled on to her side curling up as she cried.

 _"_ _Masako was always Naru's type right? She knows way more about the paranormal then me and her abilities are more useful than mine."_

The thoughts in her head only made her feel worse. All she could think of was why? Why had Naru been so nice to her? Why had he tried to protect her at his own risk? And why had he kissed her the way he did? There were so many questions but it just made her more confused.


End file.
